A Bullet in Time
by KillEmWithKindness02
Summary: We do what we do in order to keep ourselves from breaking. We lie, we hurt people, we tear ourselves down and build ourselves up. And sometimes we do whatever it takes to make sure the other doesn't know. What does a group of eight friends have in common? They've all lied, and their lives are hanging by a thread. One death. One gun. And everything in between.
1. Chapter 1

**Writers Note: It has been such a long time since I've published something and I am so excited. For the past seven months, I have been writing non-stop and I have been thinking of different ways to carry on with these chapters and most importantly, this story. This is something that I developed in a sort of weird way. It just randomly came to me. At first, I was going to have the first handful of chapters published towards the ending of August, but then something changed my mind. With the help of Mr. Authentic, I decided to rewrite everything. I started over. That was when I got the idea that I should start releasing this story in October.**

 **Before you start reading, know that this story is told in dual timelines. Meaning that there are two different kinds of plots in each chapter being told at different times in the character's lives. The story jumps around from their sophomore year to their junior year of high school and vice versa. The first portion of this chapter starts off with the present. This is where the characters are up to now. NOW being like right now at this very moment. Then it jumps to the ending of their sophomore year and the story goes on from there. Do you guys understand? If you do, skip the next paragraph. If you don't, READ IT so you understand.**

 **The chapter starts off with the present. Riley and her friends are currently in the second almost third month of their junior year - so they are barely in the beginning. But then the timeline goes back in time to a few months ago when they were in their sophomore year. Their sophomore year will end before their junior year because their sophomore year is coming to an end. But during the time their sophomore year is being explained, details of the beginning of their junior year will be revealed as well. Eventually, it will come full circle.**

 **Have you guys seen How To Get Away With Murder, 13 Reasons Why, and Quantico?**

 **It follows that same timeline - almost the same.**

 **Below are the characters that will be introduced throughout the chapter and/or series. The name on the far right is the celebrity I envisioned them to be.**

 **On a side note: I will apologize in advance for changing a few things. Like some of the character's sexuality will be changed - that was an example. They're straight in real life but not in the story I have created. So don't get butthurt because of it. Insults are not tolerated.**

 **The cast:**

 **Riley Matthews | Rowan Blanchard**

 **Geb Carter | Chance Perez**

 **Lucas Friar | Peyton Meyer**

 **Matías Reyes | Alex Aiono**

 **Maya Hart | Sabrina Carpenter**

 **Anthony Jimenez | Dylan Jordan**

 **Josh Matthews | Uriah Shelton**

 **Seth Carrion | Jordan Calloway**

 **Recurring Cast:**

 **Detective Adriel Reyes: Cauã Reymond**

 **Officer [Melissa] Parker: Adria Ajorna**

 **Farkle Minkus: Corey Fogelmanis**

 **Nina Michael: Carlson Young**

 **Missy Bradford: Olivia Stuck**

 **Aaron Beckerman: Jordy Baan**

 **Isadora: Cecilia Balagot**

 **Kayla Coleman: Vanessa Morgan**

 **Mr. Bayard: Jonathan Keltz**

 **Not everybody will make an appearance in the chapter, but now you know how they look like. There isn't a full-on summary but you guys will face some unexpected turns while reading this. Always tell me what you think and I will read it in the review section. Thank you.**

 **Another side note: I tried to write this like a TV series. So try to envision what I am writing and maybe that will help you understand everything. The chapter will start off with the characters knowing things that you don't know - so they will talk about it but you guys won't have a clue about what they have to say. Don't get confused. You will get the answers to all your questions...just ask.**

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

Thursday; February 1, 2018

1:33 pm

Officer Parker kicked down the door to the apartment and walked in alongside her partner. She stepped in and looked in all directions before she searched the main floor and rooms. Her heart began to beat faster and faster unaware of the unknown with her hands clutched tightly on her gun. Her partner was searching the top floor and she was searching the bedrooms. She made her way to the last room she needed to check: the kitchen. She scanned the kitchen to see if there were any signs of danger. She released a breath of relief when nothing seemed dangerous, everything looked normal.

"Parker, I got something up here!" Her partner, officer Blu called to her on the radio. She raced up the stairs and found him in the master bedroom, she looked at him but before their eyes can meet she saw something on the ground. She soon realized it wasn't a something, it was a someone. And they were dead.

She took a deep breath and looked at her partner, "I'll call the coroner's office and get someone on site."

He watched as she walked away with only half of the information, "That's not the worst part," he told her and she reentered the bedroom.

"What did I miss?"

Officer Blu pointed to a safe that was open. Raising an eyebrow, she walked closer to the safe and soon came to a conclusion based on certain markings and boxes. The safe contained certain guns and the boxes housed the ammo...which was missing.

"Shit!" Parker exclaimed in fear as she examined the safe. "He's armed. Get a call out."

 **6 Hours Earlier**

Riley's eyes opened at the sound of her blaring alarm. She draped her hand across her phone to stop the noise that scolded her every morning at the same time. She rolled over and sat upright as her eyes adjusted to the vibrant sun. Her hands went to her phone not long after. As always Lucas text message was there to remind her she was beautiful and that he loved her. She saw Maya's name and just under it was Geb Carter's name.

She rolled her eyes before she even got a chance to read his message.

Riley dated him the year before when she was just a sophomore. Of course, that ended when the truth came out.

She set her phone down back on the stand before she wandered around her room trying to piece her outfit for the day.

After matching different shirts with pants, she finally settled for a blue off the shoulder top and blue jeans. She walked down the stairs to her home while texting Lucas and telling him that she's ready. He was and has been her ride to school for a while now. She really loved dating him.

Another message from Geb popped up again and she didn't open it.

On days like this, she would normally turn her phone off and not go on it for the rest of the day. That was the ability he had on her.

She never chose to block his contact or get rid of him permanently despite all the mistakes he's made. She never knew why.

But, she did know that today was different. She felt different and she wasn't going to let him ruin her day.

Riley picked a water bottle from the fridge and placed her keys in her backpack before she got Lucas' call. He was outside her home.

She finished getting dressed as well as brushing her teeth. Once she was ready to go she picked up her backpack and keys before leaving her home.

The drive to school seemed longer than usual and that was because Lucas wasn't talking to her as much. She didn't know why. They walked passed the halls filled with students trying to get on with their day as soon as it was over. Lucas stopped at his locker and grabbed his history binder before his hand grabbed Riley's.

"Oh," Riley stared at him and then grew excited. "I almost forgot. I have good news."

"I could go for good news," he smiled at her.

"Since Homecoming is just right around the corner, I was going to tell you that you are signing up for an activity we're doing on the football field."

He furrowed his brows, "How exactly is that good news?"

"It's good news to me." She smiled but her smile shortened when she realized he was confused. "Since you're still the newbie, I guess there are things I need to tell you," Riley informed him. "There's this thing we do that's called Powderpuff -"

"I know what that is," he smiled at her. "I don't get why I need to sign up for an activity."

"Because..." they rounded the corner, "We have this Night Rally where classes compete against classes and the winner wins. You're going to be competing with other students that belong in their respective class."

He nodded and smiled at her. "I know what you're doing."

"What am I doing?"

"You're trying to show me off," he wrapped her hands around his back as he leaned in to kiss her. "I know that the cheerleaders have been giving you a hard time, their boyfriends will be doing it so you want me to do it."

She scrunched her face because she had been caught, but she refused to admit it. In her playful manner, she made him believe what he wanted to believe. "That's not what I'm doing. But hey, believe what you want to believe."

His lips pecked her lips and they continued to walk to their first-period class. On their way there, their walk was shortened when a certain blonde approached them.

"Have you guys seen Matías?" Maya asked the two of them.

"I thought you were bringing him?" Riley told her. Matías had been their friend ever since they were little. Ever since then, they did everything together.

"Well, I was...but something happened and he chose to walk instead." She looked in multiple directions but soon stopped when she caught a glimpse of him. "Oh wait, I think I saw him. Bye guys."

Maya was always close to him.

Once Riley turned around she saw that Lucas gestured for her to walk in the class first and when she did she turned back to look at him, "What if he's not ready?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Matías," she informed a little irritated that he had to ask. "What if he's not ready?"

"Riley," he grabbed her hand. She knew how much she worried for her friends. "He's fine."

"That still doesn't help, though," She took her seat and Lucas took his. "I worry about other things too, like at what time are you getting back today?"

"It's just a fifteen-minute drive. Nothing is gonna change the plans you have," his confidence subsided once he noticed his girlfriends doubts. "Riley, relax okay. Don't let this consume you."

It only took one look into his emerald colored eyes to gain her serenity. "Okay," she sighed. "I'll be waiting for you in front of the school."

"And I'll be here," his hand went to her cheek before it went to her hand. "I'll always be here."

 **–**

Farkle was surprised to see the bell hadn't rung. He thought he would be late since he walked to school. He approached his classroom but stopped in his tracks as soon as he saw Josh on a bench with his eyes fixated on his camera. He silently made his way towards the senior and stood beside him. He caught sight of his shows and sighed before he grabbed his things and continued to walk. "Hey," Farkle said. "Josh." He followed him. This very same routine had continued for the past two weeks and Farkle nor Josh liked it. "Please."

"For the last time, it's not for sale. How many times does this need to happen before you get it in your head?"

He nodded because he knew. But that couldn't stop him. "Josh you're a venal, easily persuaded man. How much do you want for it? $20? $40? $100?"

"I'm not interested in your money, Farkle. And the picture isn't for sale," he continued to walk.

"Then what the hell are you going to do with it?" he grabbed onto his bicep in order to stop him from walking. "That picture could ruin Isadora's chance at staying here. If her parents see it...she'll hate me. They'll take her out of this school and I won't let that happen; considering what happened last year our chances of being together for one more year are hanging by a thread. You can't show it to anyone, not even the police."

"The picture is evidence!" he lowered his voice once he noticed he had managed to get people's attention. "Missy went missing and all you care about is if Isadora will talk to you. This is someone's life over someone's reputation."

The genius clenched his jaw. He wanted to hit something, anything but all he could do was stand there. Isadora had ignored him for the last 2 weeks and everything he did would not get her to even look at him.

"Besides," Josh began. "The last time a girl went missing in this town, she was found dead."

 **...**

 **Sophomore Year**

Tuesday; May 10, 2017

A few weeks to the last day of school...

Riley was in the middle of putting her books in her locker when a familiar voice caught her attention. She turned to the person despite the chills running up and down her back. He was now standing to her right and when their eyes met she smiled. He returned the smile before he lost track of what he planned on saying.

"I was looking for you," he told her and Riley blushed. She was surprised to hear those words come from his mouth. Even when Geb stopped to talk to her.

She closed her locker before she spoke, "I guess you found me."

His hands went to the straps of his backpack and he rocked back and forth on his feet, "I guess I did."

Part of her couldn't help but acknowledge that she was talking to the sophomore Beyoncé of the school. She also couldn't help but notice the way his shirt wrapped around his shoulders when he had his hands on his backpack. His muscles were bulging. was standing in front of her with his blondish, brownish hair forming the perfect quiff. He was the Beyoncé, of the school. Everyone knew him.

Her eyes trailed up to his eyes and she noticed his blondish, brownish hair was forming the perfect quiff. He had changed the style of his hair.

Not that she had been obsessing over it this entire time.

"Can we talk?" he finally asked her.

Riley brought her left-hand closer to her eyes to look at the time in her watch, "About?"

He saw her movement and once she did so he figured she needed to be somewhere. "Um, it can wait."

She noticed he said this because she gave him the impression that she was in a hurry, "Oh, no there's no need. I just need to be in class before the first bell rings,"She informed him. "But you can tell me on the way."

He smiled when she said this. "Yeah. I'll walk you there."

Riley nodded, "That would be great."

He stepped back from her and he gestured for her to lead the way. "What class did you say this will be?"

"I didn't, but Anderson."

"Ah, she's - she's a great teacher."

Riley smiled, "No one talks about history better than she does."

He laughed, "You got that right."

They left the building and continued to walk. While doing so Riley could hear the subtle whispers coming from the girls who made school a living hell. She decided to ignore them because they would do anything to talk to him, but that only made her question one thing.

Why was a guy like Geb - the most popular sophomore in the entire school - talking to her?

"So," Riley began. "What was it that you wanted to tell me?"

He waited until they were alone to speak. He looked in all directions and when he didn't see anyone coming, he turned to look at Riley. Grabbing her hand and releasing a light smile, Geb asked Riley out on a date.

She was taken by surprise for the first ten seconds, by the fifteenth second she was slowly realizing this was a reality and when Geb squeezed her hand she was staring into his brown eyes.

"What do you say?"

"I-," she breathed. "I...say yes. I would love to go on a date with you."

He skimmed her face before he released a smile of his own. He stepped closer to her and stared at the phone that was sitting in a pocket on her jacket. "This your phone?" he asked and when she nodded he took it out of its placement. "This is my number," his smirk only made Riley's knees wobbly. "Call me?"

She was now a bright shade of red. She couldn't think of any words to say so she just nodded. He placed the phone back in her jacket and smiled. Then, in a soft movement, his hand went to her chin and he tilted it so that he would kiss her on the cheek. He walked away and Riley did everything to hold in her squeal.

 **–**

Nina took a sip from her strawberry flavored drink while she stared at her phone. Her two friends sat in front of her and sighed, they were waiting for a response but coming from her, they realized it would take a while. She kept slurping from her drink and tapping her fingers on her screen.

"Earth to Nina," fifteen-year-old Missy said as she snapped her fingers in front of her. Missy was the smart one in the group per se, she was the one that cared about school and the one who would most likely get into the college she desired.

"What?" she asked then suddenly the sunshine hit her face. "I told you to hold your binder in place."

Kayla sighed and raised her binder to block the sun. She hated doing this job for her. Kayla was the more outgoing one, she wanted to try different things, go outside their standing circle but Nina wouldn't let her. Now, Kayla wasn't scared to speak her mind, but the one thing she feared was being alone. It was you either stay and keep your friends, or you leave and Nina makes your life miserable. "I'm sorry. My hand is getting tired. It hurts."

"I'm sorry," Kayla apologized. "My hand is getting tired. It hurts."

"I don't care," she deadpanned. "I'm not going to let you let me sweat." And then there was Nina. The one who made the rules. She used people and she was smart in her manipulative way. You never knew if you were on her good side or not.

And then there was Nina. The one who made the rules. She was smart in a deceiving route and people normally had to be aware of her machinations schemes. No one knew if they were on her good side or not.

"So how are you and Geb?" Kayla questioned and then the silence grew. She did this merely to get back at her. Kayla was aware of their problems. What would adding salt to the wound harm? They're eyes leveled each other while Missy waited for something to happen. She could see the bulging vein coming from her forehead.

"He and I are fine," she informed. "We're friends and there's nothing wrong with that."

Both Missy and Kayla laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing," they said in unison. "Nothing at all."

She refrained herself from asking more questions, fearing that at some point she would get them and she wouldn't like them. She returned to her phone and scrolled through everyone's posts, she stopped when she reached Missy's. "I see your page in the yearbook is coming along," Nina said with an insolent tone to her words. "Let's just hope it makes it."

Missy ran a hand through her hair and gave her usual fake smile, "It totally will. I've just been stressing over it. You know with school ending soon and...stuff."

"What would happen if it's not?" questioned Kayla as she moved a strand of her curly, brown hair behind her ear.

"Then that would mean I wasted a lot of money on nothing."

Nina caught sight of Aaron - a guy she slightly had a crush on - when she was staring at Missy. He walked with his friends with a smile that she would get distracted over even from a distance away. Although she tended to use guys, there were some she did genuinely like. It was a shame that some of them didn't really like her back. The one guy who did was Geb. But they have been together ever since they were young. Up until recently when they chose to break up and take time off.

"Nina?" Kayla questioned.

"What?" she was brought back to reality. "What?"

"How's your number three coming?"

She went from serious to bringing a smirk to her lips, "I have my ways."

Kayla brought her binder down for just a second and when she did Nina caught sight of Geb. It hurt her that he was smiling when they weren't together, but she didn't let it bring her down. She glared at Kayla and she got the message.

"Have you and Josh hooked up yet?" she asked Missy.

Missy choked on her drink and tried to regain herself. "What are you talking about? He's dating someone."

"Oh please, don't tell me you're really considering boundaries right now?"

She nodded but then laughed, "We came close to kissing once, but he pulled back."

"Oh, my...you have to spill. Tell us," Nina was interested mainly because his girlfriend's best friend was someone she deeply despised. She would patronize her to the fullest extent. "When was this?"

"We were in my room and I was talking to him about the layout," she began. "When I turned, our lips came close to touching. Neither of us moved so that's when we leaned in, but then he stopped."

They sighed and then her phone rang, "Ugh, I totally forgot."

"What?"

"I forgot I gave Samson my paper so he could do it for me," she informed. "If I don't get it back I'll have nothing to turn in and then I'll fail. I'll see you guys after school."

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

"You know you didn't have to walk," she told Matías as she found him leaning on his locker. "We were two blocks away."

He put his phone back in his pocket. "I just couldn't."

He opened his locker and as soon as he did a note slipped out. He furrowed his brows and opened it, it was a picture of a gun. "Who would draw this?"

Maya took the paper from him and once she saw it she crumbled it. "Don't pay attention to it. The last time I found something mysterious in my locker I went down a black hole, I am not going to let you do the same."

He returned his attention towards his locker, "You're a year too late for that advise."

She let out a faint smile when she realized he was trying to be funny. "I'm just really, really glad you're back."

"I can tell. You keep staring," he advised as he placed his notebook in his backpack.

"I'm sorry. Can you blame me? It's been an entire month. And it doesn't help that you chose to ignore me for all of it."

"You know why," he reminded. Maya gave him a faint smile knowing all too well what he went through. "I should get to class."

Maya nodded and watched him walk away, "Wait. I almost forgot, Ms. Becker told us to print the assignment and do it in class-"

He cursed under his breath, "I knew there was going to be something that would ruin my day. She hates me and I don't think I can use what happened to me as an excuse."

"Don't worry about it. I'm office T.A. this period. I'll make you a copy."

"Thank you," he sighed in relief. "You're a lifesaver, you know that?"

"I've been told."

They went their separate ways but as soon as Matías turned the corner he saw him. Him as in the one person he had been completely honest too. The only person who knows who he really is and the only person who knows how vulnerable he was. There was a moment's silence as they stared at the other. As if they hadn't in a long time.

His name was Anthony.

"I-I'm really glad your back," he said.

He nodded, "Yeah, so am I."

 **...**

 **Sophomore Year**

Riley opened the door to her home with a big smile on her lips. She walked straight to her bed and laid on it before she dialed Maya's number to tell her the news.

"Spill," Maya said on the second ring.

Before Riley could explain the day's excitement, she squealed and jumped on her bed. "He's such a gentleman...I mean don't even get me started on how hot he looked when he asked me."

"What did he say?" Maya nearly begged for an answer. She wanted to know. After all, this was the first time anything like that had ever happened to her.

"He was just walking me to class and he asked me," she still couldn't believe it. "I feel like I'm dreaming."

"If you are then I'm dreaming right with you. When is the date?"

"Oh, Mylanta!" Riley pressed her hand on her forehead. "We didn't talk about that. What if he thinks it's today?"

"What?" Maya asked. "What do you mean you didn't set a date?"

"He just asked me. That's it."

"Did he ask for your number or did he - ?"

"Yeah. He gave me his number, but - don't you think it's too late?"

"Late for what?"

"Late for a date?" Riley questioned.

"Just don't worry, chances are you guys will set the date tomorrow."

"I hope. I mean - " she stopped speaking when a question had awoken in her thoughts. "Wait," she sat upright on her bed. "How did you know in the first place?"

"...about you guys?"

"Yeah, how did you know?" she asked. "Did he tell you?"

"Everyone knows."

Her eyes shot wide, "They do?"

"Yeah. Everybody." She did her best to emphasize the word 'everybody.'

Riley sighed, "I didn't want people to know?"

"And why not? You're going on a date with Geb."

"I don't want people to know because of Nina. You know she could be the school's biggest bitch when she's angry."

"Who cares what she thinks? They broke up ages ago."

"They broke up four weeks ago, maybe even less..." Riley informed and sighed in worry.

"Look," Maya began. "We both know that only a handful of people in that school like her."

"Yeah," she said scratching her head. "I just don't wanna start anything."

"You won't. But, girl!" Maya squealed. "You're going on your first date!"

"I know!" she squealed once more. "It's going to be epic."

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

Lunch had just ended and Lucas and Riley were already late. As he parked his car in the students parking lot and opened the door for Riley, he couldn't help but think of the days ahead. He tried to forget about them; about the lies, he's hidden from her but all they seem to do is come back and haunt him. Before his thoughts could lead him anywhere further than where he already was, Riley had waved her hand in his face through the car window. "Are you gonna open the door?"

"Yeah," he said as he realized he had spaced out. "Sorry about that."

Riley stepped out of the car and intertwined her hands with Lucas. "Are you sure you're okay? You're always the one that keeps track of time but today you didn't and now we're late - "

"I'm fine, Riley," he reassured and kissed her cheek multiple times. He had gotten so good at making her forget about certain things in the past few days with that simple technique that had become a habit for him. "I was just thinking about Homecoming," he lied.

"It's going to be epic."

He opened the door to the building that led up the school's stairs.

"Since we are on the topic of homecoming," she said without taking any steps. "I was thinking maybe you should spend the night at my house."

Lucas stopped walking and turned around to see Riley, "You're parents wouldn't let me."

"They wouldn't know."

"Riley, I know they're in Colorado but it wouldn't feel right."

She fidgeted with her backpack strap as they took a couple of steps forward, "We've been dating for some time now and it shouldn't be awkward that we spend the night together. It's just that - I- I guess what I'm trying to say - "

Before she could continue on with she planned on saying next, an alarm in the school's P.A was set off. "Code blue. This is a code blue. This is not a drill -"

"What? W-what's that?" Riley questioned as she covered her ears from the blaring noise.

Lucas looked around the empty hall then back at Riley.

"I repeat this is not a drill."

"We need to get to class," His voice was firm and had hints of fear.

He grabbed onto her bicep and they continued to walk. His behavior seemed a little unusual for just a simple noise. "Lucas, what is it saying?"

"It's saying someone in school has a gun," he watched as Riley stood there, frozen and unable to comprehend what he had just said.

 **...**

 **Sophomore Year**

Riley entered the school halls the next day in the morning holding her binder and textbook in hand. She wasn't sure if people would react to what happened the day before and she hoped no one did. As she made her way to her locker, she grew uncomfortable at the eyes snaking her way. Almost everyone was staring at her.

She knew some people would feel like they have a certain right to speak on Geb's behalf and say he's playing her, but she didn't expect everyone to treat this simple question as the school-wide news of the day.

She finally reached her locker and put her books in; preparing to find even more people stare at her. She sighed and closed her locker shut, but as soon as she turned around Rebecca Whitmore - a girl she knew since she was little passed her - Riley smiled at her but she didn't return the gesture. Instead, she shook her head and with the most amount of venom in her words, she said, "Bitch."

Riley was taken aback by her words. What had she personally done to offend her? Cause she swore if this was because of a guy then she would be ready to defend herself. Her eyes followed Rebecca as she continued to walk in the opposite direction, she stopped walking when she reached Missy and Kayla.

They weren't being their usual selves. They were both crying.

Riley's eyes found Maya not long after. They stared at each other for awhile before she gestured to follow her.

"What is going on?" she questioned as soon as she met with Maya. "Why is everyone staring at me - ?"

She stopped when Maya placed her finger to her mouth, signaling the brunette to be quiet.

Once the girl washing her hands had finally left, Maya stood in front of Riley.

She was acting differently too. Almost everyone was and she didn't know. It was just a simple date, why was everybody overreacting?

"This is so stupid. He just asked me out - "

"Riley," Maya placed her hand on both her shoulders. "You don't know, do you?"

She shook her head no.

There was a silence before Maya finally said what she was supposed to tell her. The setting of the place was not something she liked but it was the only place. Sighing and finally figuring out how to tell her, Maya said, "Nina's dead. She killed herself."

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

Riley and Lucas reached the classrooms only in time to see and hear absolutely no one and absolutely nothing. There were numerous amounts of backpacks laid out on the ground as Lucas approached a nearby classroom door. He tried to open it but the room was locked. "Hey? Open the door. It's Lucas Friar and Riley Matthews. We're trapped out here."

He waited a few seconds but no one opened the door. He couldn't even hear any movements from the people inside. After a few seconds, he moved onto the next one, then the next but still the doors remained locked. "I don't get it. W-why aren't they letting us in?"

Riley fidgeted with her fingers, a little frightened. She could still hear the alarm going on and it was blocking every thought she could process. "What if they think we're working with the person?"

He dropped his head, "If they won't let us in, then we need to hide somewhere. It's not safe out here."

Riley grabbed onto Lucas' hand as they ascended the stairs. Once they reached the second floor they went inside the janitors closet because it was the only room that wasn't locked. Lucas closed the door after Riley entered, he placed a whole bunch of things so no one could get in.

He crouched down to where Riley was and embraced her. She checked her phone to see any texts from Maya, but she found nothing. She only saw the time and an old photo of her and Lucas.

"Who would bring a gun to school?" she asked as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I don't know, babe," he answered, a little hesitant. "Let's just hope they don't find us."

* * *

 **Writers Note: So many questions need to be answered and always feel free to let me know what you think. Chapters will be posted every Thursdays.**

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	2. Chapter 2

**Writers Note: The events that happen in the present time [18th of January] will be revealed in the second portion of this series. That means that you guys will find out what happens after someone brought the gun to school later on in the story because the first chapter sort of ended on a cliffhanger. There are events that happen after that which will be revealed soon. What happened after the cliffhanger will be explained...but just not now. And yes, there will be a second part. You know how some shows return with a few episodes then they go on a break for like a few weeks and return with more episodes. This series will take on that adaptation. It will be going in that order as well as the episodes that will be posted weekly. And speaking of sequels...I have a few ideas. Also, the story will start off on the first day of their junior year. The last chapter was present time junior year.**

 **If there is a character you are curious to see how they look, go to the first chapter and find their name in the list of names. The celebrity I envision them to be will be right next to it. Some of the characters are on the list and other's aren't.**

 **The story takes place in a fictional town called Waterbrooke - does that sound familiar? I've used it before.**

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

First day of Junior Year

Tuesday; August 15, 2017

The first day of school was always nerve-racking for Riley. She was always nervous about not having the right supplies or embarrassing herself in front of her classmates. She knew from the last day of her sophomore year that she would try to make this year the best one yet. Which meant that she would stay clean from everything bad and she would do things for the community. She sat upright and got out of bed and into her clothes, she ate breakfast, brushed her teeth and walked out the door. On her walk to school, she made up her mind that she couldn't spend all her time being a normal student, so she agreed to join some after-school clubs.

She texted her friend Matías who previously agreed to join her for student council the week before.

He replied by telling her yes. And that on the first day of school - which was today - he would try and talk to the librarian who was in charge of that. But from the looks of it, she could tell they wouldn't be getting in.

When Matías heard that he would have to seek Mr. Hyde for approval, he knew from the start that they would have no chance. They walked from his office to the library which confused him, he expected they would talk there not in the library surrounded by silence and kids walking all over the place. "Why'd you bring me here?"

"You're going to be tutoring a student this year," he informed him but continued to walk. "As long as you remain his tutor and get him to pass all his classes you are welcome to join any club you want as well as Riley Matthews."

He furrowed his brows, "Yeah I sort of thought I had that choice already."

He shook his head no, "Given the circumstance you faced last year...I'd say otherwise." They continued to walk further into the library until they reached the front desk, "Look, I know you had a terrible summer, I am sorry that you went through that and I apologize for the deception that we invited into this school. I am sorry on that behalf but you must know that people are going to have a different opinion of you. I want you to report any form of bullying you come across, whether it's personal or not."

"Mr. Hyde with all due respect, I don't need this. I don't need to be babysat either because if that's what this is - "

"For your safety, you must," he flat lined.

He finally nodded even though he disagreed. "You're going to be tutoring Anthony Jimenez, he requested no one but you."

"Unbelievable," he muttered under his breath. Matías expected to tutor someone he hadn't known, he hoped it was a freshman so they wouldn't have known about last year; but after all, it was a small town and people would find out either way.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw a figure stand up and approach them. He didn't dare look at him. Matías had been ignoring him the entire summer and now he had to spend the next weeks with him after school.

"Set the dates for when you two can meet," he informed as he proceeded to walk towards the doors, "...but don't be late to your first-period class."

"We won't," Anthony replied with a full-fledged smile. He watched him walk away before he spoke, "Okay, tutor, I can do Mondays through Thursdays."

He scoffed.

 **–**

As Riley left her second-period class, she struggled to place the papers her teacher had handed her. She looked up for a mere second before she dropped a paper and stepped on it just in time to lose her balance. She let out a small gasp and before her back could pancake onto the ground a pair of hands wrapped around her forearms.

Her eyes remained on the paper with her two feet on the ground. She reached for the paper she had slipped on but removed her hand when she found the person who had saved her from her near fall had lean down and grab.

"I think this is yours," he said with a slight chuckle.

Riley grabbed the paper and stood up before her eyes met his. They widened when they did. Releasing a nervous laugh, Riley looked at him again. His eyes were a light shade of emerald and his sandy blonde hair was tousled to the side. He was slim and muscular with a perfectly symmetrical face.

He had a smile that could make any girl's knee's wobble. And that laugh, that damn laugh.

"Hi," he spoke in order to break the silence.

"Hey," she said back while readjusting some of the papers in her hand. "Thank you for saving me."

"No problem. I just - I'm new here and I think I'm lost," he informed her. "Can you please help me find my next class?"

It took a while before she could respond, "Yeah. Yeah, is your schedule on you?"

He pulled out a folded paper from his back pocket.

They're hands touched for a second when he handed it to her. Once her eyes trailed down to his third-period class, they widened. "Looks like we're going to the same class next period."

"Great," he took the paper from her and put it back in his pocket. "Mind if I walk with you?"

"Not at all," she said and he gestured for her to lead the way. "So, what school did you transfer from?"

"Texas. I lived in Texas."

"Really?"

He nodded.

"Is Texas different from New York?"

"A lot," he told her as he struggled to get past the hordes of students in front of him.

"You'll get used to that," she smiled as she had to pull on him so he wouldn't bump into a student. "Some of the freshmen get worried and they get to class not caring who they bump into."

He smiled as they walked up a flight of stairs and into another hallway. "There are a lot of people in this school," he said.

"Yeah. It's a big school."

"Big school, big city."

"Got that right."

"Maybe you can show me around some time," he said, his mesmerizing green eyes on hers.

She chuckled and continued to walk as he trailed beside her. Their walk towards their next period class consisted of his Texan accent and her cute chuckles.

 **–**

Maya's first day wasn't looking so good. Her third-period class started in just a couple of minutes and she was already certain she wasn't going to like this year at all; mainly because of the year before. Last year was horrible, in fact, it was the worst year ever. So much happened that she was surprised she made it through.

She didn't know how this year was going to turn out, but she hoped it was nothing close to the year before.

She entered the combination to her locker and as soon as she opened it a note fell out. She looked both ways before picking it up and as soon as she did, she noticed the paper was thicker than usual. Almost old.

The note read:

 **7-14-44**

At first, her immediate thought was that someone was messing with her, but when she brought herself up to put the note in her locker she saw something she was certain wasn't there before.

It was a yearbook.

She pulled it out from the rest of her materials and saw the print.

 **Class of '94**

She debated whether she should open it or not. Everything from the note to the yearbook was giving her an eery vibe.

Just as her fingers went to the corner of the cover the bell had rung. Looking completely stunned, Maya placed the yearbook back in the locker and slammed the door shut.

By the time she reached her class her mind was certain on one thing: this year was going to suck.

 **–**

"I didn't catch your name," Lucas said to Riley as they left their class. "It's my first day I'd hate for you to be a stranger."

"It's Riley," she answered and shook his hand. "I'm guessing yours is Lucas."

"It is," he winked. Their hands remained intact until she pulled her hand away from his.

"It was nice meeting you."

"I'll see you around?" She nodded before she turned her back on him and walked towards the opposite end of the hallway, he found his eyes trailing down from her long brown curls to her waist. He smiled and proceeded to walk to his next class.

Geb watched as Riley rounded the corner from a distance. He saw everything, from the handshake to his eyes staring down at her ass. He clenched his jaw and tightened his grip on the wall before he heard Anthony.

"This is what you ran out of class for?" he questioned. "To watch her?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Riley," he responded. "I saw you."

"I came because I wanted to talk to her, not to spy - "

"Why didn't you talk to her then?"

"Because," Geb began and continued to walk down the hall. "Someone already did."

He furrowed his brows in confusion. When he finally understood he chuckled, "Who got to her first?"

"Some new kid."

"My class is here, I'll catch up with you later."

Geb continued to walk but slowed down once he saw Seth. Josh's step-brother. "Do you have them?" he asked him.

Seth nodded, "I got 'em."

 **...**

 **Sophomore Year**

When the bell rang signaling class was over, Maya promptly stood up from her chair and left the classroom. She walked through hordes of students to get to the school's halls and eventually, Josh's locker.

As she approached him a slight smile shaped her lips. He looked cute with his fresh new haircut.

She stood next to him and watched as he finished putting his books in his backpack.

Maya waited for him to say hi or something but he never did. It didn't take long for her to see that he had his earbuds in, listening to his loud music. She took it out of his ear and that was when he noticed she was standing right next to him.

"Hey, babe," he gave her a peck on the lips.

"Hi. I was hoping we could go to Poet's. I'm really craving that cinnamon roll you were talking about yester-"

"I can't," he said as he slammed his locker shut. "I have to study."

"Really?" they continued to walk down the hall. "I thought you had a yearbook meeting."

His eyes widened just a bit, "S-same thing," he stammered. They continued to walk but he stopped when Missy did some sort of head gesture. Josh nodded and turned back to Maya. "I have to get back to class. We'll talk tomorrow?"

Maya had seen it. She saw Missy. Josh wasn't going to class he was going to talk to her. She'd noticed it before, the head-turning, the smiling, the inside jokes, how he would stare at her when she wasn't looking. Maya had dreamed of that stare and that was only because she wanted to be stared at the same way.

She held onto his arm and stopped him from leaving, "Class doesn't start for another three minutes."

"I know," he said, his eyes trailing down to her grip on his arm.

"Stay. We can talk."

"Maya - "

"Josh," she interrupted him. "Why are you going to talk to her?"

"What do you mean?" he asked her.

"Missy. You talk to her all the time. It's like you have feelings for her."

He scoffed and removed his arm from her grip. "Maya her friend is dead," he stated with a bit of anger. Anger directed towards her. "I'm sorry you're jealous that I'm friends with her."

Maya sighed. He was right. Missy needed someone to talk to. "I'm sorry."

"And to add to what you accused me of, we're just friends," he told her. He knew she was insecure when it came to feeling like she was capable of keeping the people she loves in her life. Her dad didn't exactly set a good example on that. "You're the one I'm with."

She gave him a faint smile. "Go," she smiled. "Don't keep her waiting."

 **–**

"Do I give her the ones that are in the cabinet by the fridge or the ones that are in the one by the stove," Adriel, Matías older brother asked him. "I can't tell."

"Abuela takes those later in the night," Matías told him.

"She takes the ones by the cabinet in the night?"

"No, she takes those now. Those are the ones you should be giving her."

"You want me to give her the ones in the cabinet by the stove right now?" he questioned while he read the description of the medication.

"No," Matías placed a hand on his forehead. They had been on the phone for over five long minutes trying to decide which ones she's supposed to take. Adriel couldn't seem to understand which medication their grandma needed. "Out of all the things you do, why can't you do this?"

"Because you're not explaining things well," he said. Once he turned to put the medication back in the cabinet his phone began to ring. "Hey, I gotta go."

"Just so we're clear you do know which ones she's supposed to take right?" he questioned. "You're just messing with me?"

He chuckled, "I got it, little brother. Works every time."

Matías ended the call and placed his phone in his pocket. On his way to his class, he passed by an opened door. He would've continued to walk if he hadn't heard the name 'Nina Michael', but when he did it was like dozens of chills ran up and down his body.

"Do you know where he went?" he heard the person say.

"No. He just texted me saying he couldn't show," the second person responded.

"That son of a - " he stopped. "You know what? It doesn't even matter because he did this on purpose."

"It was a horrible idea, to begin with. I'll talk to him."

Matías furrowed his brows and slowly stepped back from the doors. Their voices sounded familiar as if he's heard them before. He wished he could get a sense of what was happening, but the bell rang a few seconds afterward, leaving him to walk to his next class with a handful of questions.

 **–**

Riley left her class in a hurry. She was so grateful school was over, she really was. Ever since word got out that Nina killed herself everyone had been forming their own opinions. They were all very different but the one thing they had in common was that: Nina killed herself because of Riley.

In less than two hours she had become the most hated person in school. Forgetting that they were actually accusing her of something she took no part in. She ran up the stairs and entered another hall, passing by people who were once again staring at her as if she was a murderer. She held onto her stuff tightly and as soon as she turned the corner she bumped into someone. Her eyes trailed up from the ground to the person, she wished it was someone she didn't know but she was wrong. It was Geb. A very doleful Geb.

Her mouth opened to say something but as soon as his eyes met hers she stopped. The hall was empty and it was just them two. When his eyes went to the ground Riley saw it. She saw that he was on the verge of crying, he was just stopping himself from doing so.

"Hey," she placed her hand on his shoulder. "Hey, it's okay."

He bit his lips and placed both his palms on his eyes. "Riley, she's dead because of me."

"This is not your fault," Riley hugged him. "You didn't do this."

"Yes," he blamed himself. "She got angry at me for asking you out. I just thought that maybe I should move on, and that - I just had these feelings for you and I acted on them when I shouldn't - "

"Geb, look at me," she told him and removed both his hands from there place, "You, you did not kill her. It's not your fault, it's no one's fault. Not even Nina's."

He gulped, "You don't know what happened, Riley. SO much happened that you have no clue about. She warned me, she said she'd do something I wouldn't like and this was it. She took her own life - "

"Stop!" she yelled at him. "Nina would have never done this. You know her better than anyone, I didn't even know her and I know, listen to me, I know she would never do something like this just to mess with you."

He turned his back on her and wiped the tears away, "We got into an argument before she..." he stammered. "I left her while she was crying. Alone. What does that say about me?"

"It says that you were maybe feeling the same emotions as she was," Riley informed. "Sometimes it's better to walk away from them, I've done it before. And it hurts. Geb you'll get through it. I know you will. You might still blame yourself today, you might still blame yourself tomorrow but know that this was never your fault."

"I always knew there was something about you that always interested me," he snorted. "This is it."

Riley hugged him once again.

Was it wrong to feel what she was feeling right now after what happened? After what people would say if they chose to continue on with their date? She dismissed the thoughts and focused on comforting him, but she knew for sure that they wouldn't be going on that date anytime soon.

 **–**

Detective Adriel Reyes got out his car and approached the police officer. He walked passed the blue and red flickering lights as well as the ambulance. People walked frantically all around the crime scene as well as stare at what seemed to be tire tracks. It was as if everyone had something to do. He continued to walk towards the officer up in front while he passed a horde of people.

"Don't tell me you've been here all day?" he asked Officer Parker.

Her darting brown eyes went up to meet his. "I won't. But if you wanted me to answer that question then it's yes. I have been here all day." She stood on her two feet and wiped her hands on her pants. "It's nice to see you again." She extended her arm for him to shake.

He held in his smile and shook her hand. "I can tell you missed me, Maia."

She chuckled but then stopped, "We shouldn't be doing this here."

He grunted, "You're right. We'll pick this up some other time."

"Follow me," she gestured with a grin and walked towards what seemed to be an old, abandoned stage. "They used to perform plays here back in the 1930's. They'd also host festivals here but that stopped just a couple years after."

"Where did they find her?" he asked.

"She was hanging just above from where you're standing," she informed.

He turned to her before he looked up. "Did they bring her down already?"

She nodded, "We would've cleared the area but we found some inconsistencies."

"Really? What are they?"

"For starters: the tire tracks," she pointed to where people seemed to be huddled at. "They're recent. Meaning someone must've driven her here. Which means someone knew what she was going to do."

"What are the rest?"

"There were more than one footprints on the dirt. They are also recent."

He furrowed his brows, "How did she climb up there?"

"Through the ladders..."

"Can you show me where they are?"

They walked around the stage and stopped when they found it. "You said she climbed these?"

"Yeah. Why?"

Adriel placed his hands on it and began to climb. Once he reached the top he looked at his hands. Parker joined him a few seconds after.

"What's wrong?" she asked him as her eyes trailed down to his palms. "What?"

"My hands are dirty," he informed.

She looked at her hands too. "So are mine. But..." she stopped as she slowly realized something. "Oh my God. Nina's weren't."

They stood there in silence, both realizing things.

"Nina didn't kill herself," he confirmed. "This whole scene was staged and those tire tracks," he pointed down to it. "That was her killer fleeing the scene."

* * *

 **Writers Note: Always feel free to let me know what you think and feel free to review.**

 **Follow, Favorite and Review**


	3. Chapter 3

**...**

 **Sophomore Year**

After school was over, Matías worked on his homework in his living room while his grandmother watched her favorite soap opera. The sun had completely disappeared and it was dark outside. Despite the time, Matías still preferred to do his homework late at night. It always helped him.

His phone buzzed and when he reached for it he saw his younger sister's message.

 **Acacia:**

 **I'm with Kaden. His mom's taking me home.**

He turned his phone off and returned back to his work.

Kaden was his younger sister's boyfriend. They've been dating since the fifth grade and now two years later they are still together. At first, he thought it was cute of them to always text each other and he would like the way Acacia's eyes would light up when she would talk about him. But, as time continued, he realized that they were more than just a silly relationship that most kids would be in. Kaden had actually introduced her to his family and vice versa.

He didn't know how to feel about it at first, but then he sort of liked that she had someone to fall back on and take care of her.

His grandma got up from the couch and sauntered towards the kitchen.

"Mijo," she called out to him, "Do you want anything to drink? They're still still food on the stove as well."

Just as she said that, the front door rang. "I'm good abuela, thank you."

His hand reached the door knob and when the door opened, he came face-to-face with his older brother who was dressed in the clothes he usually wore to work. Adriel and Matías didn't look the same at all, they shared similarities but that was just in the way they spoke. It scared their mom when they were younger but as they grew up that changed.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were spending the night at your place."

His brother entered their home. "I was but that was before work got in the way. I thought I'd stop by."

When work gets in the way then that means that there was a case he was working on. He nodded before he asked about, "What's it about?"

This was his favorite part of his brother's job.

"Matías, you're pushing," his brother informed.

"Oh mijo, you know he takes interest in these kinds of things," their grandmother spoke before she paused the TV. She, herself, took interest as well.

"You really wanna know?" he asked him.

Matías nodded.

When his brother nodded, he couldn't help but take pride in his job. "Turns out Nina Michael's suicide was staged. She was murdered not too far from here..."

Matías eyes widened. The news hit him like a punch to the stomach.

"Dios mío. Is she okay?"

"Abuela, she's dead," he informed. "I looked around the perimeter and I found shoe prints - two different kinds. Our theory: two different people were involved in her murder."

"That's horrible," she said as she placed her hands over her heart. It was as if she could feel the family's pain herself.

"There's more that needs to be covered but that's tomorrow's work."

"Ven, mijo. Sit. I have some food on the stove. You must be hungry."

"Thank you, abuela."

As soon as she left, Adriel and Matías sat down on the dining table. "What are you going to do now, about the case?"

"I'm going to question her family, maybe even her friends. See if anyone matches the shoe size," he took out his phone. "Hey, where's mom and dad?"

"México," he answered his older brother. "And Acacia is with a friend. But, that doesn't make sense…why would you look to see if someone in her family has the same shoe size as the one in the scene? That makes no sense."

He set his phone down and stared at his younger brother. They had the same ideas sometimes but sometimes they didn't. "What makes you think someone she knows didn't do it?" questioned Adriel.

The question took him by surprise, "I just…figured."

"That's where you're wrong. Filicide occurs around half a thousand times in the US in just one year. I mean, think about it, what was she doing all alone over there in the night? Someone must have taken her. There wasn't any clear physical sign of self-defense other than she tried to run away. So she must've known who the person was if she got in the car, but chose to run when they found out about his motives."

"So now it's a he?"

"It's almost always a he," Adriel informed.

Matías returned to his homework once his grandma placed his brother's food on the table. He couldn't help but question if someone in her family was capable of murdering her. If her killer was a guy, then they would be quick to suspect the dad but he didn't seem like the person to do any harm to her. Nina's death circled the school in an instant, people were quick to pin the blame on Riley, but for her family to be in the midst of this nearly made him sick.

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

Riley made her way to her locker but stopped when she spotted Lucas sitting on a bench all alone just outside the building. She adjusted her backpack and very quietly inched towards him from behind. He looked extremely peaceful and the back of his head looked surprisingly good to her. She never knew how he managed to have that effect on her. When she reached him she wrapped her hands around his eyes and pulled his head to her stomach. "Guess who."

He chuckled at her inability to be discreet. It wasn't hard to tell who had placed their hands over his eyes because there was a special feeling those very hands directed on his skin. "I'm going to go out on a limb and say this is…Raquel - from my English class," he joked.

Riley removed her hands from his eyes and slapped the back of his head. "You did not - "

He chuckled once more and rubbed the place he was slapped in. He loved messing with her. "I'm kidding. I knew it was you."

She took a seat next to him and noticed he was reading a book. She reached for it but Lucas moved it just in time, she reached for it again and grabbed it, her hands inadvertently grazing against his. "A Child Called It," she read from the cover.

"Yeah, it's pretty specific."

"It's also a really good book. You'd think your mom is the one who's supposed to treat you better than anyone..."

He nodded and shifted himself to face her.

"Are you doing anything after school?" she asked him. Riley somehow found herself mesmerized by his eyes and his chiseled jaw.

"Just walking home. Unless…"

"Unless…?"

"Unless you're planning on taking me somewhere," he squinted his eyes because he knew Riley was planning something. She always was.

She squinted back and ran a hand through her hair, "Maybe."

"Really? Where would you take me?"

"Well, it is Friday and I was going to ask you if you could come to my house around seven?"

"At seven? For what?"

"It's movie night. It is also tradition so you must come."

They stared at each other for a few seconds before Lucas finally caved. "What do you want me to bring?"

"The popcorn," she began and she lunged at him with excitement. "It's not a movie night without the popcorn."

"Or the movies," he added with a smile; one that made Riley do the same.

"I'll see you then," she said. Lucas shortly picked up his things and walked away, while Riley watched him go.

 **–**

Matías sat on a chair in the corner of the library waiting for Anthony to show. He waited for minutes and still no sign of him. Before he could reach for his backpack in order to go home, Anthony had set his stuff down on the table and sat down on the chair in front of him. "It's like you're hiding," he said with a indignant look on his face.

He furrowed his brows, "What do you mean?"

"Since when do you do your work on this side of the library? It's so lonely on this side."

"It's nothing," he said as pulled out a notebook from his backpack.

Anthony watched as he did so but soon realized why. "I get it."

"Get what?"

"You're embarrassed."

He sighed and set the notebook down. "It's not that I'm embarrassed. It's that I am getting tired of being stared at. I can feel everyone's pity as well as their judgment so excuse me for not wanting to be seen with the person who was in the mix of this entire situation in the first place - "

"That's - that's," he laid back on his chair, not knowing what else to say. "That was different. We got hurt."

"Last time I checked," his voice was firm. "People who get hurt don't exactly go on their own terms and try to find a murderer. And not to add to it, they don't exactly break the law to do so."

There was a silence for a while. Last year will forever be their worst. Neither of them wanted to talk about it. Trying to find something new to talk about, he changed the subject. "So, you're gonna help me pass English?"

"Considering you're failing the language you speak, I'm certainly going to try."

There it was again. "It's not that simple. You know that."

His eyes remained on his paper before he started to feel uncomfortable.

"You know you never gave me an explanation."

"Explanation for what," Matías asked, disinterested.

"Why did you stop talking to me?" he asked propping his foot on the table.

He scoffed.

"You see that," Anthony gestured towards him. "You do that a lot. If I remember correctly you told me those were signs, to always pay attention to them because they give you the answers you need."

He looked at him, "I am not that person anymore. You wanna know why? Because it almost got me killed. Now, should we get started?" he asked.

 **–**

Maya jotted down notes on her notebook while she watched a video on her computer. As she finished writing down her sentence her phone began to ring. It was Riley.

"Hey, girl, hey," she answered.

"Hi, Maya," Riley responded as she walked from her room downstairs to her kitchen. "Do you wanna do something tonight?"

She looked at the stacks of paper she had to get through by the end of the night. "I can't, Riles. Sorry."

She heard her sigh, "Why can't you?"

"I have homework."

"But it's Friday," she whined.

"I know. I have two assignments due by the end of the day that I have to turn in. They're both pretty long."

Riley waited for a few seconds in silence, "That's fine. We'll talk later."

Maya finished writing down her sentence. "But I can swing by your place around seven tomorrow. We'll go shopping."

"Yeah. Tomorrow sounds great. Bye, Maya."

"Bye, Riles."

She ended the call and set her phone on the side, but as soon as it came to contact with her bed sheets it hit something. Maya furrowed her brows and unveiled the sheets before she saw the yearbook.

She hadn't opened it since the day she found it. It's just been lying around in her room. She felt tempted to open it and once she did she found multiple pen marks. Whoever owned it wrote a lot in it.

She flipped through the pages passing multiple pictures and the writings that go along with it. She passed through the pictures students take for that specific year as wells as the teachers. Her fingers went to the corner of the page, she was getting ready to flip to the next one but before could, she noticed that the page was thicker than the rest of them.

Dragging her finger across it, she noticed that two of the pages were glued together.

She used a knife from the kitchen to cut through the dried out glue and once she did she realized why the pages were like that in the first place.

The person was trying to hide their high school experience. Post it notes were attached to student pictures, a lot of them. On the post-it notes was writing written in cursive. Her eyes trailed through the pictures and once she made it to the last one, her eyes widened. The post-it note for that picture was filled with writing. There were multiple of them. She lifted the notes to see who the person was.

 _Marshall Friar._

He looked like the average high school football player. The one that would bully his fellow classmates and probably disrespect his parents.

She decided to close it before she got distracted. She couldn't afford to.

 **–**

Seth placed his foot on the shovel and kicked it down. When the dirt began to pile up, he lifted it and placed it on the other side of the hole he had begun to dig. This lasted for minutes and eventually hours. He slid off his shirt while trickles of sweat trailed down his back and chest. When he saw that the hole was deep enough, he turned to Geb who had done none of the work.

"You finished?"

Seth nodded, "It's all done."

Geb reached for the cooler and grabbed a water bottle. Once it was in his hands he threw it at Seth who caught it with one hand.

"I don't know if I overdid it but," he breathed and gulped down the water. "I don't think anyone would find it here."

"These are the pictures," he said and handed them to him. They were wrapped in a Ziplock bag.

Seth bent down to set the pictures down but as soon as he did so, he noticed something. These were pictures of Nina. He unzipped the bag and pulled them out. A few years ago the two were truly happy, they were just freshman who really cared for each other. Then came last year and literally stomped all over that. As he flipped through the pages he noticed that some of them were of Riley. She was kissing his cheek while he smiled at the camera.

He placed the picture back in the bag and looked at Geb to make sure he wasn't looking. When he saw that he wasn't, he reached into his own pocket and pulled out a flash drive. He placed that it in the bag and set it down in the dirt before he covered it up again.

"You know the last time we were here on this side of town," Seth began and placed the shovel in the back of the truck. "Nina was still alive."

Geb nodded. They were here before everything started to fall apart. "C'mon, let's go. It's about to get dark soon."

 **...**

 **Sophomore Year**

It was morning and Matías was getting ready for school. He walked around the house placing the things he needed in his backpack as well as unplugging his phone from the outlet in his living room. As soon as he finished he slipped on his denim jacket and walked towards the kitchen.

"Good morning," Adriel called out as soon as he entered their home. He was very loud when he did so.

"Why are you here so early?" he asked him as soon as they met each other in the kitchen.

"Just got back from the hospital where Nina's body is being kept," he began as he stole the toast Matías had previously made. "I want them to perform an autopsy on her but if I do so it would spark a homicide, so I am debating whether I should or whether I shouldn't."

"Obviously you should," his younger brother tempted. "Do what you think is right."

Adriel wanted to say something but he chose to keep quiet. Before he could change his mind Matías phone rung.

"I'll see you tomorrow, little brother."

"Later."

 **–**

"Thank you," Riley told Geb as they walked up the stairs together. "I know it hasn't been easy for you..."

Ever since Riley had talked to him about Nina he had been doing a whole lot better. At least that was what she was told. Nina's suicide was still circling around the school. Everybody knew about it and everybody blamed her. It didn't help that there was going to be an assembly taking place at the end of the day to help ensure kids that they are not alone and what they can do to help better themselves and their surroundings. That didn't exactly help Riley.

"Hey," he began as soon as she trailed off, "I'm the one that needs to thank you. If you hadn't talked to me I don't know what I would've done."

The sunlight passing through the window shined on his features which made Riley even more nervous. She gave him a faint smile.

"C'mon - " he said and continued to walk.

"Wait," she placed her hand on his bicep in order to stop him. Once she realized where she had placed her hand she slowly pulled back. "You should get to class, I don't want you to be late."

"I don't mind. Plus, if we're going on that date anytime soon I need to be with you so people know."

She laughed, "I don't think anyone wants to."

They stayed silent for a couple seconds before he grabbed her hands, "It's still not too late for you to change your mind. If you don't want to go on this date at all, Riley, I'll understand. I'll be lucky even if we stay friends."

She shook her head no, "I like you. I really like you and that says a lot because you are the first boy I've ever liked. No matter what people perceive of us, we're happy."

If they were dating he would kiss her.

"Now get to class. You're gonna be late because of me."

He didn't budge. He just stood there and smiled at her.

"I'm serious," she smiled.

"Okay. I'll see you for lunch?"

"I'll see you then."

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

When Riley heard her doorbell ring she was expecting to see Lucas, but as soon as she opened the door she saw Maya instead. Her hair was scrunched up in a bun with a little bit of hairs sticking out to frame her face. When she stepped into her house, Maya passed Riley slightly pushing her along the way.

"Come in," she said and turned around. "Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry, I was just hungry," Maya opened the fridge and brought out yesterdays leftovers. She placed the lasagna in the microwave and pressed the button to warm it up again. "There's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?"

Maya played with her fingers before she looked up at Riley; who was know standing in front of her. "Shawn is proposing to my mom."

"Really?" Riley almost squealed. "When did he tell you? Wait, no, when is he asking her?"

Maya shook her head no, "He hasn't told me. I found the box in his drawer and when I opened it, the ring was there. You should've seen it, it's so gorgeous and it must've been so expensive."

She held her hand, but as soon as her eyes stared into hers there was something different. It was like she wasn't sure she wanted it to happen. "Is something wrong?"

"It's just happening so fast," Maya began. "I know I want them to be happy. I do want them to be together and I want us to be a family, but...I'm not ready. How-how do I tell them?"

Riley brought Maya towards her in order to give her a hug, "Maya, it's okay."

"This is stupid," she clarified and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I just..." she played with the dish towel that was sitting on her kitchen counter, "I want them together."

Riley let her stand there in silence and watched as Maya wiped her tears. "If you want to talk about this - "

"I'll be fine. Right now all I'm thinking about is why the hell haven't you taken this privilege for granted. Peach, you're parents are out of town," she laughed. "Let's stay up."

"I can't. At least not today."

"Why not?" she questioned with furrowed brows.

"Because there's - " The doorbell rang and this time she was sure it was Lucas. She walked out the kitchen and onto the living room while Maya constantly questioned who was at the door.

Once it was opened and his eyes were on her's, she smiled.

"Lucas."

"I bought the popcorn," he smiled.

 _Damn, he's hot._

"Ah, come in."

As soon as he passed her and entered her home, his eyes came to contact with Maya. She was staring at him while she ate from her lasagna. "Well, who is this, Riley?"

"His name is Lucas," she responded, hoping Maya wouldn't embarrass her.

"My name is Maya," she extended her hand and waited for him to do the same. "Maya Hart."

He smiled at her before he shook her hand and introduced himself, "Lucas Friar."

She very casually backed up from him afterward. _Friar?_ She asked herself. "I should get going. I wouldn't want to disrupt your...date."

"It's not - " before Riley could finish the door had slammed shut leaving the two alone. "At least you didn't forget," she said as her eyes trailed down to the popcorn.

 **–**

The movies lasted longer than they'd hoped and neither of them minded. As the credits started rolling in, Riley stood up to stretch. Lucas followed shortly after.

"What time is it?" he asked as she paused the tv and went to turn on the lights.

"12:37," she responded.

He chuckled, "I've really been here for that long?" I was here around seven."

She chuckled as she walked towards the kitchen for another slice of pizza, she sighed at the sight of empty cardboard boxes, "Told you the pizza would be gone."

He walked towards her and smiled, "That's because you eat like an animal."

She nodded, "I'm not gonna deny it but you're the one that lived with animals their whole life. I'm just saying."

"Very funny…"

"Always am," she opened the cabinet and took out a glass cup. "Do you want anything to drink?"

"Water."

She slid the cup over to him as he walked towards their water gallon. "I have a question."

She gasped with complete exaggeration, "That's the first."

"I'm serious," he sat down on the stool near their kitchen island.

"Well, then what is it?"

He played with the cup for a few seconds before he asked her, "You have parents, right?"

She chuckled, "Yes. Otherwise, I wouldn't be alive."

"No, that's not what I meant," he advised. "They're alive?"

She was confused, "They're on vacation right now."

"Oh, I didn't - know."

"Why?" she furrowed her brows. "Did you think I lived alone?"

"No, I just...you never mentioned your parents and…" he gulped. "I just figured."

"Well, I do. I have a younger brother too. His name is August but we call him Auggie."

"Was he born in August?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes," she smiled. "What about you?"

"I don't," he answered. "Both my parents are dead. But I live with my uncle and my aunt."

They were silent for a few seconds, "How they die?" she questioned but soon backed out, "If you don't mind me asking."

"It was a car crash. My mom died instantly but my dad died in the hospital. My uncle was his brother and he was the one that would take care of me if anything happened."

"Oh, Lucas. I'm sorry."

"It's fine. It happened ten years ago."

"But still...it shouldn't have been easy."

When Lucas smiled at her, she couldn't help but smile back. He had that ability on her. Even if the day was dark or if it was filled with bad luck she was sure she would smile if she were to see him. They spent the whole night talking. Talking about things such as their favorite color, movie, Tv show, childhood toy and basically anything a best friend would know about their best friend.

Before they knew it, the night was day.

Lucas had to admit that the day went by fast. It was as if time didn't exist when he was with her. Everything had no limit. The time, their talk, their day…it didn't consist of any limit - any inevitable end.

He didn't want to leave her home, it radiated the smell of comfort, something he was desperate for. But the more he told himself to stay, the more he realized he couldn't. His aunt would soon knock on his door to wake him up.

He grabbed his jacket and walked towards the door, Riley followed him.

"I hope you don't get in trouble because of me."

"It's worth it," he smiled. "See you Monday."

* * *

 **Thank you guys so much. What do you think of the chapter? Let me know in the reviews.**

 **Follow, Favorite and Review**


	4. Chapter 4

**Writers Note: This story has to be one of the one's where most of my time was put into this. I spent weeks and months just trying to develop the perfect timeline and the plot as well as plot twists and I just had so many ideas that I feel like I have this story and the sequel already finished. Thank you guys for reading and if you guys have questions always let me know. I will always answer.**

 **I would like to thank Mr. Authentic because he helped me out so much with the following chapters as well as the entire story. There is more to come and more that you need to find out so thank you for reading and always feel free to review.**

 **On a side note: There was a review I got a couple weeks ago and I would really like to say something. This story wasn't meant to fit someone's expectations, but my own. If this story doesn't end up with the couple you stan of are so invested in, then I am sorry. Don't always base your interest in the ship you like. Who knows? Maybe you'll like what the story is about.**

* * *

 **...**

 **Sophomore Year**

"What's this?" Anthony asked when he entered the school's empty gym. When he got closer to them, he noticed the contemplating look on Geb's face and Seth's anxious state. His eyes were on his phone as he tapped his foot and bit his nails. "I got your text..."

Geb furrowed his brows, "You haven't heard, have you?"

Anthony was confused. "Heard what?"

He and Seth exchanged looks and debated whether they should tell him the news. Neither of them wanted to be the one to do so mainly because they couldn't find the strength within them to actually utter the words. When he found out himself, he didn't even know how to react. He was frozen and he couldn't move. His eyes went to meet his brown ones, his expectant eyes. "Anthony, Nina didn't kill herself..." he let the words hang for a bit, "She was murdered."

Anthony's expression changed and he took sat down. He felt like someone had just punched him in the stomach and couldn't breath. When the silence became overwhelming, he turned back to his friends and scoffed. "That's fucked up..."

Geb hung his head after he realized that Anthony thought he was joking, "Why would I lie about this?"

"You lie about everything - "

"Have you been living under a rock all this time!" he finally broke. "Don't you check the fucking news? Articles have been written. 'Teenage suicide turns into homicide in a small town in New York,'" he air quoted with his fingers. "Do you live in a fucking cave - ?" He didn't get to finish because by the time a tear had rolled down his cheek. He wiped it down and snorted, "I should get to class."

He leaned down to get his backpack, pushed passed Anthony, and sauntered out the the gym.

They watched him leave and as soon as the doors closed, Seth went to pick up his things.

"I didn't know," was all Anthony could say. He didn't mean to get him angry.

"It doesn't matter," Seth exclaimed, "We're all screwed anyways."

"What does that mean?" he placed his hand on his chest to stop him from walking.

"Nina? The back roads?" he asked. "Did you forget about that too?"

He recognized the chastisement in his words and sighed. "I remember," he stated and removed his hand from his chest. "That has nothing to do with this I don't get why - "

"She's dead. And now since her death is a homicide, who do you think they're gonna question?"

Anthony watched him go because he didn't know what to tell him. He didn't have the answer to a problem he didn't know was going to affect them and it made him fear for something terrible.

And this was because he was one of the last people to see her alive.

 **–**

Riley saw Geb step out from inside the gym with his head hanging. She watched him pass by the hallway and pass through people he would normally talk to. When Riley first heard the news, she read it from the town's newspaper. Along the writing, in small black print, read that Detective Adriel Reyes would be taking the case. Riley was a little stunned when she read this. And this was because she met the detective himself. He was Matías' brother.

She didn't know how to approach Geb mainly because she didn't know if he wanted to talk. She was also starting to notice that the stares haven't subsided at all. In fact, she had been stared at more than ever.

The bell rang and it was time for her to get to class now. Riley turned her back and walked down the stairs. While she did so, Maya was going in the other direction.

"Are you okay?" the blonde asked her.

"I'm fine," Riley ran a finger through her hair in order to place a strand behind her ear. "I just...people will talk."

Maya knew exactly what she meant and it hurt her that Riley was going through that. She hated that people really thought that of her. As Riley continued to walk, it didn't take long for Maya to piece the pieces together.

People will be quick to think that Geb killed Nina in order to be with Riley.

 **–**

There was something Anthony hated about being sent to the counselor's office. He hated the whispers and snickers he got when his teacher announced it in front of the entire class. It was as if the people he was sitting next to had a right to judge what they thought was a student with issues, a student with depression. Even though this was his first time being sent there, he knew - from the moment he heard it - that it was something he would loathe from the start.

He assumed the visit came about when his teachers saw how poor he was doing with his grades. But as soon as he sat down in the leather chair, and the counselor stared at him in complete pity, he knew it had nothing to do with his grades.

Ms. Jones sat behind her wooden desk as she watched her next visitor take his seat.

"You must be Anthony Jimenez, is that right?" she asked as she looked at the paper on her desk.

"Yes," he confirmed and looked around the room. He leaned in towards her, "Hey, listen…I really shouldn't be missing class right now - "

"I'm well aware of that, but…" she adjusted herself in her seat. She knew this talk had the potential to last minutes. "One of your teachers fear that you're grades are slipping due to depression."

"Depression?" he questioned, the news took him by surprise. He had been anxious for the past weeks but that was for a completely different reason and as of today it was because of Nina. "W-what teacher?"

"That doesn't matter, what matters is if this is true."

After the wave of surprise was over, Anthony couldn't help but feel offended by his. Whatever teacher brought this news about could never be more wrong. "I'm not depressed," he clarified. "Can I please go back to class now?"

"Not this minute, no," her voice was firm, it was enough to keep him seated. "I've been told Nina Michael was a close friend of yours?"

There it was. He knew her death was something that would be brought up. "Yes, she was."

"You want to talk about her?"

"No, not with you," he intended for his words to be bitter, and judging from the look on her face it was clear she understood.

She set her pen down, "I can't help you if you won't cooperate with me."

"I don't - " he stopped, "…need your help, Ms. Jones. I am fine."

He managed to win the leveled battle their eyes held against each other. From Ms. Jones highly trained perspective, Anthony didn't seem like the depressed type. She knew it was stupid to think that way but sometimes someone who is doing so well popular-wise had no reason to feel down all the time. They agreed that he would no longer have to visit her if his grades go up, which meant his D's and F's would have to be at least solid C's to pass onto the next grade. As he walked out the door to her office, he noticed a man dressed in formal attire - consisting of a cotton sweater and trousers - approaching the girl at the front desk.

"Hi," he heard him say as he reached into his pocket and took out his badge. "I'm detective Adriel Reyes, I was assigned to Nina Michael's case…can I please talk to Mr. Hyde?"

"Yes, sure. Hold on a minute."

He left the office with his heart racing a million miles per minute. A detective was assigned to her case and he was standing in the same school she attended. He couldn't help but think they've traced the murder back to his friends and him. But how would they pin the murder on them, if the only crime they committed was leaving her there drunk - if that was even a crime?

He reached into his phone and sent both Seth and Geb a text message before he entered his class. Waiting for their response was a nightmare he hoped ended quickly.

 **–**

The rest of the day went in a blur. Nothing could pull him out of the thought that he could spend the rest of his life in jail. He made his way through the many students in the hall and pushed through the front doors of the school. As soon as he came to contact with the fresh air his phone began to vibrate and once he pulled it out, there was a numerous amount of texts from both Geb and Seth.

As he scrolled through them, he looked up for a split second to see if he was going to bump into someone or something, but there was something in particular that caught his attention.

The detective he saw in the main office an hour prior to now was sitting in his car, his phone out. He seemed to be talking to someone and reading off the papers in his hands. The passenger door next to him opened and in went someone who looked fairly familiar. When the detective turned to look at him, Anthony got a clear look at who that person was.

It was Matías.

He grew confused. Why would they be in the same car?

 **–**

After school ended, Riley met up with Geb in the school's halls and together they walked to Poet's Cafe - a place she found when she was in desperate need to use the restroom. The place radiated a feeling for Riley, it was peaceful, quiet, and cozy. She sat at table near a brick wall with a very sleepy Geb by her side. She would occasionally turn to him in worry, she had tried to talk to him but every time she brought it up he dismissed it. A soft smile framed her lips as she saw him lose his balance from the corners of her eyes. She closed her laptop as his eyes shot open, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Just…distracted," he stretched his hands. "And tired. Did you finish?"

"I did. Do you want anything?"

He shook his head no and grabbed onto her hand, "Riley, I know you feel like you need to make me feel better but you don't. This...this is something I don't think you'll be able to help me with."

"It doesn't necessarily have to be me. I want you to feel better..."

"Hey," he said in a smooth, hoarse voice. "This," he placed her hand on his cheek. "This is enough."

She gave him a faint smile.

"I'll walk you home."

"No," she informed him. "It's fine. You should be home. Get some rest."

He kissed her forehead before he walked out the cafe.

As soon as he left, Riley slipped her computer and notebook inside her backpack and stood up. As soon as she did so, she noticed the handful on stares aiming in her direction.

Everybody in town knew.

Riley Matthews was _talking_ to the guy whose girlfriend was murdered.

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

Maya walked from the nearby store to the building her class was in. She walked outside in the bright sun next to a large patch of sun with a cold water bottle in her hand. She glared at the girl who had nearly bumped into her and continued to walk. As soon as she faced forward she heard her name being called out from behind her. When she turned around she could see Seth Carrion making his way through the students that stood in his way. He was walking towards her.

"Hey," he said when he stood in front of her.

"Hi?" she drawled the word, confused. Her eyes stared at his broad shoulders before they met his eyes.

"Umm, listen…what do you say we go somewhere after school? Just the two of us."

Maya's eyes widened. She stared at his expectant eyes before she ran a hand through her hair and fidgeted with her fingers. "Seth I dated your brother. I'd be weird if I went out with you."

"Yeah, but you guys broke up months ago. Come on, just a walk to the ice cream store downtown and back. That's all." He looked back for a quick second and when he did, she could see the group of boys laughing and pointing their way, one of the boys dropped his head and gave the other what seemed to be money. She scoffed.

"Just give me a chance," he stared into her eyes.

Maya could see he wanted to smirk maybe even laugh. Instead, she just turned her back on him. She didn't give him a yes like most girls would, she didn't say no either. She simply walked away from him.

When Maya first met Seth, Josh told her that no girl should ever have faith in him, that no one should ever lay their trust with him because, at the end of the day, you're the idiot. She just thought that in the time they dated, Seth would have realized what he does is wrong. But as she walked away from him, she came to a sense that Seth would stay the same - he'd never change.

 **–**

Lucas made it out from his class and towards his locker in a rush. He was happy he made it out of there alive. Now, he knew he was exaggerating at the moment but it was hard not to when he talked to no one in that class, not even the teacher. As he entered the combination to his locker and opened it, a girl from the corner of his eye caught his attention.

She was a brunette with short hair and glasses. Although the lenses blocked the color of her eyes he could tell they were hazel. She pushed back a strand of hair behind her ear and continued to talk to her friends.

He was quickly brought back to reality when Riley joined him at his locker.

"Hey," she said to him and he smiled back.

"What's up," he said back and placed a binder in his backpack. "Wanna stop at Vincent's for pizza after school?"

She did the same thing the girl did and pushed back a strand of hair behind her ear. Only this time he knew it was because Riley was planning on telling him something.

"Oh, hi Lucas," a tall blonde with a denim jacket said to him. She was in one of his classes. "Hi, Riley."

"Hey," she said but her eyes didn't meet hers. This can't be good, Riley thought.

The blonde's name was Kori Capaldi and she had always disliked Riley since they were very little. Kori was disingenuine and Riley found it hard to stand her cantankerous behavior.

She tried to keep calm although she could feel her hands ball.

"I see that you and Lucas are friends," she began and smiled at Riley. "Must be hard you know, with everything that happened last year."

Lucas furrowed his brows and followed Kori's stare, soon his eyes were on Riley's, "What happened last year?"

"You didn't tell him?" she pretended to be confused. When her eyes stared at hers with a malicious intent, it didn't take him a long time to realize she was doing this to hurt her. "Riley here was being very obnoxious and she dated the guy who's girlfriend was murdered. But that didn't turn out all right, now didn't it?" Kori smirked before she spoke again. "I'd say be careful with this one."

Lucas stared at Riley as the news settled in. He heard about Nina's death even before he moved to that town, but he never knew Riley was involved in it somehow. At least not until now.

He finished placing everything in his locker by the time Kori left. As soon as he turned to look at Riley, she was gone.

 **–**

Maya studied both yearbooks carefully and sighed. She rested the one she found in her locker and looked at the one that was a year before that one.

 **Class of '93**

Placing her finger on the page, she dragged it past the list of names and found nothing. Neither matched with the name missing. They must've only attended that year of high school and not the rest.

The reason she was doing this was because, the one she found in her locker had a cutout picture where everyone else's picture was placed. She assumed it belonged to the person that owned the yearbook.

She looked at the year after that one to see who's picture was cut out but there seemed to be no one missing. So she looked at the year before and found nothing once again.

She found this impossible. There was no way she was going to find anything if every idea she came across seemed to have a dead end.

Before she could do anything else or think of something else to follow, a figure sat next to her. Quickly packing her things and turning to see who the person was, Maya sighed.

It was Seth.

The library was supposed to be a place where she could be silent and get her work done, she didn't expect to see him here.

"What was that?" he questioned with a grin on his lips.

"Why are you here?"

He stared at her before he leaned back in the chair, "You've been ignoring me."

"I've been busy. And I'm still busy now."

He nodded, "I can see you're busy."

There was a moment's silence before Maya stared at him again, "You're not leaving me alone."

He shook his head no, "I just want to talk."

She chuckled, "The library is not the place to do so."

"It doesn't necessarily have to be the library," he began. "Let's go. I'll drive you somewhere."

She went to pick up her things and for a split second, he thought she had accepted his invitation. If it wasn't for her stare, that one goddamn stare, he wouldn't have gotten the message. She laughed as he slowly went to sit back down.

"You're not coming with me, are you?"

She picked up the two yearbooks and turned her back on him.

"Are you just gonna ignore me?"

She turned around to look at him. He was expecting an answer but she didn't give it to him.

She left him waiting.

 **–**

Matías rushed through the library hoping he wasn't creating much of a distraction. He approached the previous spot he sat at the day before. This time, it was him who was late for their tutoring session. He watched as Anthony had the prescribed textbooks open, a pen tapping the pages and a brow furrowed in concentration. He sat in the same seat as the day before, only this time his feet weren't on the table. Matías set his things down quietly and sighed, "I'm sorry I'm late."

"No, don't worry about it. At least now we can end the session sooner with only 45 minutes to spare."

He ignored the bitterness in his words and looked up at the clock just above him, he realized he was thirty minutes late, "I had a meeting for student council."

He bit his lip. "I thought you didn't like that stuff?"

"There's a lot you don't know anymore."

He nodded and slid the book towards him. "Then teach me."

 **–**

Anthony waited for Matías as he walked down the hall. He was fixated on his phone and walking very slow. His hand gripped the corner of the wall, he knew that he shouldn't be doing what he was about to do, but it was the only way he could save himself from potential disaster. He realized the guy Matías went in the car with was his brother. Ever since that day and on top of Nina's death, he's been wanting to come clean about the last night he saw Nina.

He gulped and leaned back on the wall, he didn't know if he should go through with it or not. If he did, Matías would know his side of the story and hopefully, believe him. But if that didn't work, someone would know about that night.

If he passed this opportunity in general, no one would know, but that would also mean that no one would believe him if the finger landed on them.

He saw him from the corner of his eyes and in one quick motion, his hand grabbed onto his arm and pulled him into the empty room next to him.

"What the hell?" Matías asked as he found himself alone in a room with Anthony - a student he hardly knows.

"We need to talk," he said as he locked the door to the room and searched for any windows. They were all covered with blinds.

He stared at him in confusion as he adjusted his shirt, "Talk about what?"

"Your brother."

"What about my brother?" he asked still confused. "And there was no need for this at all..."

"He's the detective working on Nina's case, right?" he queried scratching the back of his head.

"Again, there was no need."

"Just listen," he told him and sighed. "I was there."

"There for what?" he began to grow impatient.

"I was with Nina the night was murdered."

His frustration subsided as soon as he heard those words. "I-I thought Geb was with her?"

"He was. And so was Seth. We left her there because they kept arguing and she just…she ran away."

"Who was arguing?"

"Nina and Geb just like always," he answered.

He took time to gather up the little knowledge he knew about the day before she was murdered and it all made sense. First, everyone thought Nina killed herself because she was heartbroken Geb moved on. But now, everybody suspected he killed her to be with Riley.

"We didn't kill her, I promise," Anthony felt the need to say. "Or at least I didn't."

Matías backed up from him, "Let me talk to my brother -"

"You can't tell him," he panicked. "I - "

"I'm not. I just can't really blame you if I have nothing to base my trust in."

He nodded and unlocked the door. He turned around and looked him one more time in the eyes before he left.

"I really hope you're innocent," he muttered.

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

Riley walked out of her bathroom and into her room with her clothes on one hand and her phone on the other. She kept hearing her phone ding with notifications, all coming from the same person. She set her clothes down on the bed and stared at her screen. Geb had called, texted and face timed at least seven to ten times in just thirty minutes. She hated him when he did this. She was certain he was drunk too. Today she wasn't having it. Especially since she's home alone and it's eleven in the afternoon.

She ignored his calls as well as his texts.

Four months ago she would have never believed she would be here doing this stuff to him. She would laugh and defend him and say that he is the nicest kindest person she has ever met. But looking back, she was so delusional.

She really liked him. He was the first boy she had ever opened up to besides Farkle, Auggie or her dad. She told him things because she thought she could trust him, he told her some things too that she has kept to herself to this day.

As she set her phone down and walked back into her bathroom to slip out of her towel and change into her clothes, she couldn't help but remember the day he asked her out on their first official date.

 _ **...**_

 _ **Sophomore Year**_

You come here often, don't you?" Geb asked as he sat next to Riley in an open table at her favorite cafe. He called her thirty minutes earlier but she wasn't answering her phone. So he came here because he was certain he would find her here.

"Hey," she was taken by surprise. She hadn't spoken to him since she's seen him coming out of the gym. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see you," he answered as he inched himself closer to her. "If that's all right with you?"

She nodded, "Are you okay?"

He looked away and slowly scooted back from her, "Riley, I don't want to talk about it. I wanted to be with you."

She was about to say something but then she stopped.

"Let's go somewhere," he suggested. "Just the two of us."

She watched as he stood up.

"Where would we go?"

"Anywhere," he smiled. "Together."

"I don't know. Can we go down to the river? There's a bench there and I go down there sometimes just to be alone."

His smile was everything, "What are we waiting for?"

The two walked out the cafe, crossed the road and went down a flight of wooden stairs. They walked passed trees, dried grass and eventually found the trail Riley takes.

"It's a long walk," he said as he put his hands in his pockets. "How did you find this place?"

"I was walking home from school and I wasn't in the mood to go home..."

"I have that mood every day," he felt the need to say. They walked for a few seconds in silence before Geb inched closer to her. His hand left his pocket and hung in the air for a few seconds, he watched as her hand waved back and forth and as soon as they were centimeters apart, he intertwined his fingers with hers. She turned to him and smiled before her gaze went straight down.

He was holding her hand. She swore if she could squeal she would. She was even surprised at her reaction to this, normally she would have lurched at the contact of their hands but this was different. His hands were warm.

When they made it down to the river, Geb took off his jacket and placed it on the bench Riley took a seat in. He grabbed a rock from the ground and turned to her, "Have you ever tried this?" he gestured to the work.

"Tried what?"

His smile grew, as he overlooked the lake. He threw the rock and Riley watched as the rock bounced off the water creating three different ripples.

"How did you do that?"

"Come here," he brought out his hand. When Riley walked towards him, Geb reached for her hand once more. He stood behind her and placed the rock in her hand, his left hand going to her waist and his right hand cupping the back of her hand.

"Just move your waist to the right," he said into her ear. "And move your hand back as well, but keep it low."

Riley couldn't contain her excitement but for some reason she did. She didn't know how she was doing it.

"Then all you do is…" he moved her hand towards the water and Riley watched as the rock left her hand and into the water. "Throw it."

The rock bounced off the water many times. She turned around to face him and when she did their lips were only inches away. He placed his hands on her cheeks and stroked them with his thumb. He wanted to lean in but he couldn't, he wouldn't. At least not until they had gone on their first date.

"Go out with me," he whispered.

She smiled and stared at him. His eyes were closed but she could see that he truly cared for her. And she really liked that.

"Soon. I promise."

 **...**

* * *

 **Writers Note: Thank you guys so much for reading and I hope you guys have a great day. How did your Halloween go? I'm excited cause I've been brainstorming ideas for a new story that I hope makes it in time for the Winter. Thank you guys so much and keep the reviews coming.**

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	5. Chapter 5

**Writers Note: Thank you guys for reading and don't forget to review! And also, do you guys have any shows to recommend? I would be totally interested in something new.**

 **...**

 **Sophomore Year**

Adriel flipped through the pictures in the case file and planted them out on the table. Picture layered on top of picture.

The more he flipped through the worse they got.

Unfortunately for Matías, he was able to catch a glimpse of every single one of them. He was sitting right next to him while he was working on his homework. He turned to look at another one and quicly cringed.

There were pictures of footsteps.

Pictures of the stage.

Pictures of her clothes.

Pictures of the tire tracks.

Pictures of Nina.

And there was more.

Eventually, they stopped. And as soon as they did, Adriel brought out a separate file. In those files contained special information needed to be known about the case and about Nina. A few paragraphs in, he looked at his brother only to see that he had his attention on the picture of Nina - laid flat on the ground.

"I've seen worse," he informed as his brother brought his eyes from the picture to meet his, "This is nothing compared to the murder scenes I've been to."

"They're really that bad?" he asked. He was still in shock and it was hard to see how cruel people could be.

"They're terrible. But then again every kind of murder is terrible. Were you her friend?"

He shook his head no. He only spoke to her one time and he never bothered to speak with her again. She was a different kind of girl, someone who bases her existence on whether the guy she's crushing on likes her back. Which was fortunate because she could've had every guy wrapped around her finger.

His lips went flat and he shook his head no.

"Do you want to know something about this case," his brother began as he brought out a paper that was underneath the mess on the table.

Matías nodded.

"The autopsy reports come in just a few days but from what we've seen, there were two hairs found on her that did not match her own. Although one was black and curly the other was blonde. We assume it was dyed due to the discoloration but we were able to tell one is a female and the other…male's."

His eyes widened, "Could it be her killer's?"

"We don't know," his brother answered. "We haven't found a suspect to match it to. But for now, I figured I'd question her family. Close friends. Her boyfriend - if she had one. It's a process."

He nodded. Her boyfriend. Geb was one of the last people to see her. He remembered seeing it through her Snapchat story. He was with her. "Did they find a phone on her…at the scene?"

He shook his head no. "Why?"

He found it strange but scary at the same time. He was almost sure Geb was the one who killed Nina, "It was just a question. I'm going to bed now."

Adriel nodded, "I'll see you tomorrow."

He walked towards his room but along the way, he realized it couldn't have been Anthony who killed her. If the hair was dyed then it certainly couldn't have been his.

But it still didn't change his mind about Geb.

 **–**

"I believe you," he said as he placed his books down on his table in order to get Anthony's attention the next day. "My brother told me the new evidence and none of it seems like you could have done it."

He smiled at the welcoming feeling, "I told you I didn't do it."

"That does not matter," he informed and watched as his smile fell. "You said that you played a contributing factor in her death."

"What would that have to do with this?"

"You said you have her phone and her wallet?" he asked him and he nodded. "When my brother finds out that Nina posted something that night and that her phone wasn't on her he's going to trace it. You're going to have to get rid of that phone before he traces it back to you."

He sat upright, "I didn't know that."

"Soon, he's going to be questioning her friends. And since you know her and Geb dated her, you guys are on the list. You will need to come up with a convincing story, one that doesn't further complicate things please."

He nodded still taking in the amount of help he was receiving.

He gulped and turned his back on him.

"Wait. Thank you," he said. "Thank you."

"I'm betraying my brother for this. Please, don't get caught."

 **–**

"The detective," Anthony began while he talked to Seth and Geb. "He's Matías brother."

As if any more news couldn't change the course of the emotional roller coaster he was on, Geb hung his head in disappointment. He was in his room finally getting over the news, but just then Anthony had to barge in with a new one. He finally raised his head and sighed while Seth sat upright on the bed he laid on.

Anthony paced back and forth in his room, thinking of many lies he could tell. None of them seemed to stick. "Since the investigation has been launched, our names have been placed on a list. We're suspects."

"We can't just tell the truth, can't we?"

"No. The truth will get us into trouble. We'll be the reason she got killed."

"We are," Geb cut in. "Seth you got her drunk and Anthony you took her phone..."

"And you let her run away," Anthony finished. Their eyes leveled each other before he looked away. "I didn't tell you guys this, but I overheard Nina talking to Missy about a guy she was seeing." Geb scoffed very clearly and loudly, but he ignored it. "She said that he was older than her by a few years."

"How much is that?" Seth asked. He really wanted to know.

"He was married."

"Married?"

He nodded, "They got into an argument and he pushed her. Maybe if...if we make that the main story and add things, we won't look guilty? She ran away from us because she was so paranoid. He was threatening her and she was scared of him."

"But what if they ask us who this guy is? _Please give a detailed description of the guy?_ " Geb asked, imitating what a detective would say for that last part.

"We don't know who he looks like because she was rambling on about him," Anthony seemed to be lost in the reality he created. "Nina brought her own beer so that got her to admit the truth."

"You seem to be covering both our asses, but yours." Geb pointed out. He couldn't help but think he was just saying this so this story could differ from his. "I already know what I'm gonna do."

"And what's that?"

"That's none of your business - "

"Really? You really think we have time for that bullshit?"

"IF I HAVE TIME, THEN YES!" he snapped at him. They were much closer to each other, fists clenched both prepared to swing if the other did so first.

Seth sighed and stood up. He was always the one that would try and break down the argument, he was never the one that caused it. He knew why this was getting personal between them. It was because they both knew her better than he did.

Seth didn't know Nina the way Geb and Anthony knew her. He never had a serious talk with her but when they did talk he could genuinely tell that she was fascinated by things and had ideas that she normally kept to herself. She was a light not many people really got to see and that was because she always put out her most hated trait for everyone to come across with. She wanted people to think she was a leader, a girl who was beautiful and got everything she wanted. And she was that too many people. Nobody dared get on her bad side. Girls at their school either feared her or hated her while every guy wanted to sleep with her.

He watched as they both stepped back from each other and sighed.

"We can't keep doing this," he began. "She tried to end this friendship before..."

"That's because Geb couldn't calm her down. God, I hate that I'm doing this. We're thinking just like her. We're making ourselves look innocent by blaming someone else."

"It doesn't matter. She did it to mess with people. We're doing this so we don't get convicted for a murder neither of us committed."

"We know what we're going to say now," Geb said with anger in his words. "You guys can leave now."

Anthony was the first to go. Seth didn't take too long after.

Geb never knew he would be doing this to the girl he dated since the fourth grade. He shared the best moments of his life with her, now he's sharing the bad moments with the people he thought he'd leave behind a few months back.

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

"Mrs. Macy," Maya said once her art teacher opened the door to her. She was slightly taller but had curly hair and a dark skin complexion.

"Yes, Maya?" She asked one of her favorite students.

"I know I ask this often, but I was hoping I could stay in for a little to work on my painting?" Maya normally asked this favor when she was feeling down, as it was when she felt most inspired. She couldn't help but let out a smile when Mrs. Macy gestured for her to enter the room, Thank you."

"Don't thank me, Maya. Thank the grade your gonna get when I see your work."

She walked over to her spot in the classroom which was in the very front and lifted the veil that protected her painting from getting dirty. "Can I ask you something?"

"Spill."

Maya picked out her favorite brushes along with the paint she needed for the almost finished canvas. "Why would you assign fifteen AP art students - who don't know a thing or two about love - a project on…love?"

She heard her teachers chuckle, "Well Maya, there's always gonna be a time in life where you're going to do something you're not prepared for. This is simply one of them."

"Why can't you have us paint our fear, our hatred…stuff like that?" Maya said as she dipped her brush in the paint and then brushed it onto the canvas. "Now that's something we're all familiar with."

"That's a little moody, Miss Hart. Don't you think?"

"Yes, but that brings out emotion. Beautiful art - in my opinion - doesn't make sense, it brings up a discussion."

"You can bring up a discussion among students when you stand up in front of the class and present your painting," she informed Maya.

She rolled her eyes and smiled when her teacher chuckled. Just as she set her brush down, her phone began to ring. "I hope you don't mind…"

"No, no. Not at all."

She pulled out her phone from her pocket and looked at her screen. She was getting a call from an unknown number. She thought nothing of it and put her phone on speaker, "Hello?"

"Hey, Maya," she scoffed when she heard his voice - Seth's voice. She set her phone down and picked up her paintbrush again. "Are we still on for that date after school? I figured we could do it some other day since you never said no."

Maya struggled to set her paint down and grab her phone, all the while Mrs. Macy heard what Seth was saying. She quickly turned off the speaker and placed her phone on her ear.

"How'd you get my number?"

"I got it from a cute cheerleader - "

"Funny," she sheepishly smiled at her teacher who's attention was now on her.

"I'm serious though. What time should I pick you up?"

"I never said yes - "

"You never said no either. So what gives?"

"I can't talk right now - "

"Then say yes - "

"Okay fine. Yes."

She could practically see him smirk through the phone call. She ended the call and slipped her phone back into her pocket before she returned to her activity, not even saying a word to her teacher.

"Never in my five years of teaching have I ever witnessed something like this," she smiled. "I didn't know you and Seth Carrion had a thing. I'm pretty sure I would've heard by now."

Maya raised a brow, "Heard it from who?"

"I have Samantha Veranda at the end of the day, we all know she's the school's biggest gossip."

"Yes. She also has many girls who would love to harm her." They continued to work for the remainder of the time until Maya figured it was time to go home. "Do you stay in here till late?"

"No, not most of the time. Just that today I'm grading papers."

"I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye Maya."

 **–**

"Hi," Riley said to Lucas as she approached him. When he turned around he was surprised to see her, she hadn't talked to him since yesterday.

"Hey," he closed his locker door and adjusted his backpack before he smiled at her.

Riley gave him a faint smile and it pained her to see that he was unsure if they were on good terms or not. They walked for a couple of seconds before she finally got the courage to speak out again, "I know I haven't been talking to you lately and I know that it's not fair -"

"It's fine, Riley," he told her once she wandered off. Lucas didn't want her to tell him because she felt the need to, he wanted her to tell him when she was ready. "It happened last year."

"But it still affects me today," she stated and they stopped walking. "I made a terrible mistake last year that will never happen again. I understand if you don't want to talk to me it's not something - "

"Hey," his hands met hers. "I still want us to be friends, Riley. I trust you."

She smiled and he led their walk. For a split moment everything was okay, but as soon as she turned to look at people Riley noticed something. Every girl that had at least been friends with Kori was giving her the death stare. She'd feel it coming from different directions. Riley once heard some girls in the bathroom talk about Lucas, she was in the stall but the girl speaking said she practically asked him out and he rejected her. She continued to pin the blame on Riley because she was the only girl at the school he associated with. She felt Lucas' hand on her back and saw it as a gesture to continue walking. Riley really cared about their friendship and she feared it would end because of everyone's opinion. She hated that people were still using what happened last year and she wished they would stop before Lucas feels like he's making a mistake by being friends with her.

As their walk continued Lucas stopped talking. Riley looked at him with furrowed brows but soon realized he was staring straight ahead with a glare, following his gaze her eyes shortly fell on Geb. He was a good distance away from them, but from the looks of it, he didn't plan on moving. He was expecting them to go around him. Riley was about to do so but stopped when Lucas stopped.

"So it's true," Geb began staring at Lucas with the same glare he was giving him. "Where there's a Riley there is a Lucas not too far behind."

Riley hadn't physically seen him ever since they broke up. His hair was back to black and it was fuller than he normally had it. He was growing out his beard and Riley hated to admit that it suited him. He looked better than before.

If she hadn't known him, she would've drooled over him. It's a good thing she knew him.

Riley noticed from the corner of her eye that Lucas was fidgeting with his fists as if he was preparing to take a swing at him. But she knew Lucas, he was too kind too wise to do something like that.

"Care to introduce us?" Geb said to Riley.

Riley stared at him with her usual 'are you serious face'. She soon noticed he was and without wanting to start anything Riley obliged.

"Geb this is my friend Lucas," she began. "Lucas this is Geb."

Lucas smirked at the way she said Geb, it was as if she was disgusted and didn't want to ever pronounce his name again.

"Glad to hear he's just a friend," he said as he stared sternly into Lucas' eyes. "I'll see you around, Riley."

As he walked away Riley continued to walk in the opposite direction, Lucas following short behind. "That's him? Your ex?"

They rounded the corner onto an empty hall and she nodded. "I can't believe he acted that way. I'm sorry."

Lucas waved it off and placed his hands on her shoulders, "Don't worry about it. If it makes you feel any better he and I are already off on the wrong foot."

"It doesn't," Riley informed. "It really doesn't."

He laughed even more at the way she said it. It was too cute for him. Riley pulled on his shirt as a gesture so they can continue walking.

 **–**

"I'm sorry I can't make it to your parent's party this weekend," Josh apologized as he stared at Missy's brown eyes. They went down to her lips before they went back to her eyes again, "But maybe I'll make it up to you."

"I like the sound of that," she told him as she lightly kissed his lip. "What would we do?"

"We'd drive my car somewhere pretty far," he began and kissed her neck. "Then I'd get you out of the clothes you have..." he kissed her left collarbone and smiled when he heard her laugh. "You're having fun."

"That's because you're fun," she told him. "I'll admit the setting of this is a little bit of a turn-off."

"Why?" he looked around. They were completely alone, no one sat on the tables or the computer desk.

"We're in a classroom," she answered. "In a school."

He laughed, "Okay. You have a point. C'mon on let's go."

"Yeah, I'll be out there in just a minute. I forgot I had to turn in a paper for her class. Since I'm here, might as well do it now."

"Okay," he nodded.

As soon as he left, Missy reached for her backpack. She looked both ways in order to make sure he was really gone. Once she heard his footsteps getting further and further, she set her backpack down and approached the teacher's desk.

She opened multiple cabinets in her desk and closed them quickly. When she got to the last one, she saw them. Shining under the ceiling light.

They were two keys.

She picked it up and slipped it into her pocket before she set the paper she was initially supposed to turn in back on her desk. As soon as she went to leave she felt her phone vibrate. When she turned it on she saw the message. It read:

 _ **Well done.**_

* * *

 **Writers Note: What do you guys think about the text message Missy got? Let me know in the review section.**

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	6. Chapter 6

**Writers Note: I just finished writing the chapter where Nina's killer is revealed. Brace yourselves...you won't see it coming. After that chapter the story will go into a pause because I will be publishing my new story...Yes, I have a LOT coming. I hope you like this one because it will be a romance...but something totally different.**

 **Thank you guys so much for reading and let me know what you think...**

 **...**

 **Sophomore Year**

Riley bit her fingers waiting for Geb's response. She anxiously paced her room wondering if she had made a mistake or just hurt his feelings. She didn't know how he would take this idea. From the distance, Riley saw her phone lit up with the notification telling her he was typing.

As soon as the text popped up, she ran towards it. His message read:

 _It's a good idea but I hate that we would have to hide that we're dating._

She plopped down on her bed and responded to his text. It didn't sound right that they chose to start dating amidst all the crazy things surrounding them. If people found out, she would die. Not necessarily like Nina, but she would never see the end of it. It wouldn't be because she was embarrassed to date him, it would be because she chose to start a relationship with the guy who's girlfriend was murdered.

She hated the situation they were tied in, but in order for it to work this was the path they would have to take.

His message sounded like he wasn't on board with her idea but she understood he still wanted to see her.

Just in secret.

It's what they would both have to do at some point.

She looked at the time on her phone. **7:46 am.**

School should be starting soon and she would gave to get up now. Riley reached for her backpack which was just to the side of her and stood up. It was a quick ten minute walk to school but she wasn't looking forward to it at all.

 **–**

When her hand reached the door's handle, she pulled it back and entered the school. A part of her was excited to see him, but the other understood she couldn't look at him. So far they agreed to completely ignore each other at school. Which meant: no talking, no staring, not texting and no smiling at each other. They were strangers.

She reached for her phone in her jeans and when she pulled it out she read Maya's text. Turns out they couldn't hang out during lunch.

When she looked up, a fast paced figure smashed into the wall creating a loud echoing noise around the hall. An abundant amount of heads turned in her direction and saw what had happened. When Riley felt something splash on her she didn't dare open her eyes, she couldn't even tell what it was. Thoughts crossed her head the only thing that really stuck was that the noise sounded like a gunshot.

She slowly opened her eyes and saw that she was covered in a red gooey substance. Almost like blood.

Laughter suddenly erupted between a group of people while others stood there, completely dumbfounded. Her eyes went to the people laughing, it was two guys. Tears started running from her eyes as she looked at the "blood" on her arms and clothes.

Suddenly someone said from behind her: "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

She turned to see who the person was, it was Geb. It felt so good to see him, but they had an agreement. He grabbed onto her and continuously asked her if she was okay. It seemed like he was looking for wounds.

He turned back to the guy, he wasn't laughing anymore. Geb's hands gripped his shirt and slammed his back to the wall. "Do this shit one more time..." he threatened.

His grip loosened on him and he turned around to see Riley. He grabbed her hand and walked her out of the school. A couple minutes later they were in his car and he was driving her home.

 **–**

Maya didn't look at her phone. She couldn't bring herself to read the message after the one Josh sent her. Instead she focused on finishing her drawing for her art class. She really needed something to distract her right now.

Josh texted her saying they needed to talk. Seventy five percent of her was certain they were breaking up. Why else would he send her something like that? She wasn't ready to end things with him.

When she finished her drawing she packed her things and walked to class. On her way there, just ahead of the hall, stood Matías talking to Anthony. It surprised her because she didn't even know they existed to each other.

They seemed to be talking about something important since they were looking all around them to check if no one was listening. Anthony prepared to leave but as soon as he took the first step, Matías stopped him. He said something to him and Anthony nodded.

She wanted to know what they were talking but when she saw Josh talk to him she quickly hid. What if Josh was looking for her?

She sighed.

They were definitely breaking up.

 **–**

"Mr. Bayard," Seth called out to his gym teacher in the locker room. "I was looking for you."

He nodded and quickly hid the paper in his pocket, "What can I do for you?"

Seth finished adjusting his shirt since he had just finished weights class. "You're cutting me from the team?" he asked.

Bayard sighed and removed his hat before he put it on again and continued to walk. "You ignored all my warnings," was all he said.

"I was working on it," Seth defended himself.

"If you were working on it you would've got to school on time and passed most of your finals. Turns out you did the exact opposite. You were cut from the team because you didn't make grades, Carrion."

"Can you give me another chance? Please?"

"I'm afraid it's too late," he informed. "I'm sorry."

He didn't have the energy to stop him from walking away. Once he was gone, he slammed the locker shut and cursed out loud. He hated that he needed good grades to stay on the team. If it wasn't for him their team would've lost more than half of their games.

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

The bell had just rung signaling the beginning of lunch. Riley didn't have any plans so she stayed in school and got something off the vending machines. As she stared at the many food choices, she couldn't help but think about Lucas and Geb. She didn't want anything to happen nor did she want Lucas to be on anyone's bad side.

Choosing to go with a Belvita snack, Riley walked passed the hallway that led to the lounge where she would do her homework. She passed by a sign on her right which happened to be a sign up sheet.

 _Gates Festival_ it read.

She remembered going to these when she was younger. It just so happened to be a tradition she and her dad would do every year. They would go on the tea cup ride every year, now she had the chance to actually help out.

She brought out a pen and signed her name as well as her phone number. Her phone vibrated not long after and when she opened it she read that there was a last minute student council meeting.

Taking a loud and very frustrated sigh, she picked up her backpack from the ground and walked towards the classroom which fortunately wasn't too far from where she stood.

As she passed through of group of friends and rounded the corner, she felt a hand wrap around her waist and pull her in. As soon as she heard the door close and lock shut, she immediately turned around to face the person.

It was Geb.

She was surprised to see him, especially since it was so unexpected. One second she was walking towards class and the other she was in a room with him. When the wave of surprise passed, her face grew stern.

"I'm sorry," he apologized noticing her change in facial expression. "If I told you we needed to talk you would've gotten angry and walked away."

"Ever heard of a text?" She questioned.

"You would've ignored me," he said immediately.

She looked at him, "Okay, so why bring me here?"

He sighed and let out a light chuckle. Like he was struggling to say what he wanted to tell her. When he seemed ready, he gulped and looked at her. "Do you like him?"

"What?" she furrowed her brows.

"Do you like him?" he repeated. "Lucas?"

Riley clenched her jaw. What she would do to hit him. But she remained calm. They were in school. "I don't know," she only answered because she needed to be somewhere. "Now if you can please let me leave I have a meeting to get to."

"There's no meeting," he informed her. "I took Jenna's phone and I texted you."

She was even more angry than she was before.

"Riley," he began as he stepped closer to her. "I need to know. Do you like him?"

She crossed her hands and stared at him, sternly. "Remember that time I asked you the same question? If you liked Nina? If you _ever_ liked her?"

"That's not the question - "

"I don't care if that's not the question," Riley interrupted. "You really fooled me."

He bit his lip.

"You lied to me," she deadpanned and approached him. "What if I'm doing the exact same thing to you?"

Geb stared into her brown eyes. They weren't the same as the first time he met her. They were filled with anger, with manipulation and it killed him.

What if she was messing with him?

He clenched his jaw at the possibilities. What if she really did like Lucas and what they had was truly over? "Riley, I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"I don't wanna hear it," she picked up her backpack and tried to walk out the room but he stopped her.

"Can we just please be friends?"

Her first thought was to say no, but the second she looked at him it was like everything he did in the past hid behind the single strand of hope he had left. She wanted to say no. She wanted to hurt him in the worst possible way but what would that make her out to be? She wasn't who she was when she was with him. They never got a chance to be friends. Ever. They just jumped into the 'we're talking' phase of the relationship.

"Please," he begged. They were extremely close. Too close for her liking.

"Fine," she said with sincerity. He slightly nodded before he stepped back from her, his hand went to the door knob and he flipped the switch. The door slid open and she walked out.

 **–**

Maya sat in her seat during class and tapped her pencil on her binder while listening to what the teacher was saying. Her right hand touched her jaw because it was the only thing supporting her head from falling down on the table. Her eyes were centimeters from closing. She didn't care that the subject she was learning was extremely important, she was tired and was in no form to write down on her notebook.

The light coming from her phone caught her attention. One of the notifications came from Seth and the other was an unknown number. She read the message and furrowed her brows.

 _ **Locker 543**_

There was another notification.

 _ **Now**_

She looked around completely confused then back at her phone. The messages read the same thing. She raised her hand and asked to go to the bathroom. While the teacher allowed her to do so, she also threatened to lower her grade if she took long. Something she couldn't afford.

Quickly walking towards the locker and finding it down an empty hall, Maya responded to the number.

 _ **I'm here**_

Whoever she was talking to took a while to respond. In that time she examined the locker, it was dented and nearly broken off. Completely different from the others.

 _Ding! Ding!_

 _ **Now open it**_

She looked at the locker. _With what?_ She questioned. She didn't have the combination.

 _ **What's the pin?**_

 _Ding! Ding!_

 _ **You're smart. Think.**_

She stared at her screen for nearly two minutes before she looked towards the locker. There was no way she was supposed to figure out what it was if she didn't know. Choosing to put her phone back in her pocket, Maya tried a random number.

 **13-17-02**

It didn't work.

 **43-16-09**

Didn't work either. She leaned her head on the locker before she pulled her phone out and re-read the message. It still read the same thing.

She chose to not continue guessing since she had to be heading to class now. Whatever was in there, she hoped it wasn't something that would get her in trouble.

 **–**

She stood in the same place again. She wore the same familiar necklace hanging just around her neck, her hair was equally as long.

Lucas observed her from just a few feet away. She was wearing a red top with white jeans and white shoes, she stood there leaning against her locker. The only difference he noticed was that this time she was alone.

As soon as he turned to look in the other direction, a slight thought crossed him. Maybe everything seemed familiar to him for a reason? As the passing students walked by, his gaze on her remained stagnant. She turned just the slightest bit and smiled at him when she caught his gaze. He quickly looked back into his locker and tried his best to hide from her.

If he could remember where he saw her, he would be able to remember everything. It was as if it was at the tip of his tongue.

To the left of her was a school poster and at the bottom, two little kids ran towards it.

That's when it hit him.

That's when he remembered her.

He didn't pass her on the street, he didn't see her in a foreign country. He saw her when he was younger. After struggling to remember her name, it hit him. His friend Ferny had talked about her just a few days ago, her name was Harper.

Lucas adjusted his backpack and walked towards her. She was still on her phone and it took her a couple of seconds to realize someone was standing next to her.

"Harper, right?"

She looked up and smiled when their eyes met. "Lucas."

He nodded, "Yeah. Hey. I was just wondering if..."

She smiled even more.

"Did you by any chance happen to go to school in Texas?" he asked.

He could tell that she was a little surprised by the question, "No, I've been going to school here ever since I was little."

He was puzzled by her answer. "Really?"

"Yeah. Ever since I was a child."

He nodded. If he asked more questions he would start to seem invasive. "I'll see you around."

 **–**

He made it home just a few minutes after. He set his stuff down on his couch and walked towards the garage, as soon as he was inside he went to the box with all his childhood memories.

He moved a couple of things: blankets, papers, certificates, projects, and drawings until eventually, he reached the pictures. There was one, in particular, he was looking for.

A pre-school photo of everyone in his class. He was certain she was in it.

His finger trailed the list of names and when he found the name Harper, he gasped. She was sitting just next to him. Her head resting on his shoulder as if they were close friends.

He fell back on his feet and stayed there, sitting down on the ground.

Memories rushed through him.

They used to play on the swings all the time.

They played hide and seek.

But then one day she left.

Lucas bit his lip and furrowed his brow, "They told me you were dead."

* * *

 **Writers Note: That's it for chapter 6 guys. Let me know what you think and always feel free to leave a review. I would like to see what you guys have to say.**

 **Follow, Favorite and Review**


	7. Chapter 7

**Writers Note: My initial intention for this story was to make it sound like a show. Hence the weekly updates. Thank you guys so much and the slow reviews do make my day - while there's some that want Joshaya, some of you guys take your time to look passed your ships and look into the plot of the story. Thank you guys so much for reading.**

 **...**

 **Sophomore Year**

The thing with coming to school in a small town even after someone was murdered was as if walking into a place where rumors circulate everything. Matías heard the same rumors every minute of the day, he saw the same people pretend to care for Nina even though they hated her. He rolled his eyes at some and while he passed Nina's locker, he could see that it was decorated with flowers, cards and candles. When he made a left and stopped at his locker, he noticed that the school really was different without her.

As he pulled out his books, he noticed that to the left of the hall was a sign that encouraged teens to speak out and get help if they needed any. Next to that one was a poster that told students 'don't forget to smile'. He found it almost embarrassing to walk passed it.

These signs wouldn't do any good. He knew it and the people who made them knew it too.

He looked to his right and saw Anthony. He was standing just a few feet from him, staring in his direction. He gestured for him meet him at a nearby room and he did so.

"I talked to them," he informed while they talked in an empty lounge. "We know what we're gonna say."

"That's not important...for now," Matías brought up. "The autopsy results came in."

He gulped as soon as the words escaped his mouth, "What were the results?"

"Nina tried to defend herself..."

He felt a rush of energy pass through him and struck his heart. "That bad, huh?"

Matías nodded, "The DNA on her finger nails were inconclusive... Anthony, she had evidence of blood force injury to the head. She was hit eight times."

"Was that how she died?" he asked and watched as Matías nodded.

"And even after she was dead her killers tried to make it look like a suicide," there was a short silence between the two. Nina was murdered in such a brutal way. "The strangulation marks on her neck were placed after she was unconscious; that's when they hung her."

"Holy shit," he leaned on the couch and dropped his head. "I should've gone after her when she ran away."

"There's no time for self pity. You're going to need to get rid of that phone. Don't break it, don't hide it or do anything that will further complicate anything. Please." he said. "And do it tonight if possible."

"Why tonight?"

A group of students passed them and he waited for them to leave, "The more time you waste the closer you let my brother get to you."

He sighed and turned back to look at him. "I'll do it."

 **–**

Ever since she was thrown that balloon, Riley had been looking both ways before she took a turn. She had never been so aware of anything until today. She was expecting something to happen and while nothing did, she wasn't ready to let her guard down. When Geb brought her home, she took a shower and washed everything off and after she came out she was greeted with warm soup that he had made. She smiled at him and gladly accepted it.

Now, they were back to ignoring each other as planned. While they talked at her house, Geb finally told her he agreed with her idea. He wouldn't like for people to treat her that way, but it would be worse if they knew they were dating.

So, now since they were at school they are strangers.

They don't talk to each other in the halls or even look at each other.

"Are you okay?" Maya asked Riley as soon as she found her.

She turned around to face the blonde and gave her a hug, "I'm fine. I feel better."

"Those assholes," she said and tightened her grip on her again, "Trust me they don't know who they just pissed off."

Riley finally felt like laughing. "This is why you're my best friend."

As soon as they broke the hug, she looked at Maya. Something told her she still hadn't talked to Josh. Riley feared that they drifted apart and she didn't like that. Maya was so happy with him and now her happiness was fading away. "Has he said anything?"

She understood what she was saying almost immediately. "No."

"You should be the one to talk to him."

"I can't."

"Why not?" Riley was truly confused. Why couldn't Maya just confront him and sort out the issue, the elephant in the room that is Missy?

She sighed and pulled back a strand of hair, "Because if I do, if we talk, I feel like we're going to break break up."

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

"You're gonna get it," Geb playfully warned Aaron as they wrestled in his living room.

The good thing about having a dad that worked up until seven and having a little brother that was being babysat and was thirty minutes away was that he could go home at any time he wanted during school hours. He stood in front of Aaron and held out his arms ready to use them to bring him down. Aaron did the same thing and jerked his head in directions, pretending as if he were dodging imaginary punches. They both stopped for just a second and in that second he pretended to charge at him which made Geb flinch.

"Ahhh, I got you."

Seth was concentrated on his game but soon lost focused when he saw that Maya had texted him. "Hey, watch out for the cord," he warned when he realized Aaron almost came close to stepping on it. "Dipshit."

 **Maya: You should be at school.**

 _How did you know I wasn't?_

 **Maya: I have my ways.**

He smiled as he stared at his screen. Are you stalking me?

 **Maya: Don't be ridiculous.**

Aaron wrapped his hand around Geb's foot and picked him up.

"Hey, put me down," Geb said. "I got it. You won, you won."

 _Relax. We just skipped math. We'll be back before next period._

Geb's feet reached the ground just a couple of seconds later.

"You fucker," he cursed. "Don't pick me up next time."

That only made Aaron laugh even more. He continued to eat off the plate he had on the dinner table before Geb started messing with him and slapping the back of his head. "Next time don't mess with me when I'm hungry."

"We should be getting back," Seth informed. "The periods about to end."

"Yeah, yeah," Geb said. He had lost full interest in school ever since Riley and Lucas started being close. He would see them everywhere.

They picked up their things and left. Aaron left shortly after with the food he was eating before.

 **–**

Riley waited for Lucas in their usual spot. The bench just outside the main building had been their meeting place for quite some time. They would meet there and walk to the classes they had together.

She sat on the bench with her phone in her hand and when she realized he was taking long she chose to walk without him. Although the walk wasn't long it felt lonely. She wasn't used to that.

As she entered the classroom, she realized that Lucas was already there. He was seated on his seat.

"You didn't wait for me," she told him, slightly confused about why she wouldn't.

He didn't look at her, instead, he looked at his hands.

"Lucas."

He remained still.

"Are you okay?"

"Ms. Matthews, take a seat," the teacher said to her. Riley obliged and when she sat down she stared at him, his eyes faced the front of the class now.

Something was wrong and she couldn't help but think she did something to get him angry.

After the class ended, Lucas was the first to stand up and leave the room. She was barely on her feet when he did so.

She placed the materials she had out in her backpack, but in doing so she came up with an idea. She wanted to know why he was acting this way. Even if she was too blame for this, she wanted to know what she did wrong.

So she walked out of the room chasing after him. She knew what class he had next and she knew the way he took to get there.

Soon she was close to reaching him but she stopped walking when Geb approached her. He wanted to talk with her.

"Riley," he smiled.

"Hi," she took a step back because they were too close to her liking. "I'll see you around."

"Wait," he grabbed her bicep in order to stop her. "I was thinking maybe we could do something after school today."

She stayed silent for a couple seconds, but then she answered him before he could start thinking. "I can't. I have a lot of homework."

He nodded, "How about tomorrow?"

As if the situation couldn't get any more awkward between the two, somehow there was a sign that fate wanted the situation to end up hurting her. From the corner of her eyes, she spotted Matías walking in their direction.

Now, a brief history backstory: Matías and Geb didn't get along because of something that happened last year. It was the reason she and him broke up. If he saw them talking Riley would feel like she's betraying her friend.

Wanting to end their talk, Riley responded with a "We'll see" and continued to walk in the opposite direction from him, hoping she hadn't been caught.

 **...**

 **Sophomore Year**

 _Don't look at him_ , she told herself as she spotted him just a few feet in front of her. They were walking in the hallway going different directions and he was on her left side. Her eyes went to his for the fastest second possible only to see that his eyes were already on her's.

He wasn't following his promise.

When they passed each other, he didn't talk to her or stare in her direction. She was relieved.

But also a little disappointed.

Her gaze went forward and she stopped walking when she was about to bump into Ms. Jones - the guidance counselor.

"Riley," she said with amazement.

"Hi," she said to her with a little hint of confusion.

"I've been meaning to talk to you. Is tomorrow fine?" she asked as she closed her phone in her hands.

"Uh," she drawled the word. "Tomorrow...is fine. Yeah."

"Good. That's good. I'll see you then."

She continued to walk uncertain why Ms. Jones was wanting to talk to her. She had heard that she was pulling people in to talk to them about Nina, but Riley didn't know her that well at all. She dismissed it and followed on with her walk to her next class.

 **–**

"Maya?" Josh said almost as surprised as she looked when she stared at him. "Hi."

She mentally cursed herself out. The main reason why she had been avoiding him was for the same reason she feared they would break up. For the longest time now, Maya has known that there must have been something that happened between him and Missy. It wasn't a coincidence that as soon as he started helping her out on the yearbook that the less he started talking to her.

She never had the courage to tell him because she never wanted them to break up.

And now they might.

"Josh," his named escaped her mouth as she took one step back from him, casually pretending to focus on the material in her hands.

"What are you doing?" his eyes observed her.

"Um...I don't understand," she was confused by the nature of his question. She didn't know what he was talking about.

He chuckled, "Let's go out tonight."

He wanted to go out on a date.

A date?

Had she heard right?

"Like a date?" she chose to question him and he nodded.

"Yes," he smiled because she was genuinely addled. I figured since we're dating we would do something as boyfriend and girlfriend," he informed her, a little confused about why she was unsure it was a date. "Do you have any plans?"

She shook her head no. Homework can always wait, right?

"Good. We'll do something after school."

"Okay."

As he continued to walk, Maya watched him pass her by.

"Oh, and one more thing," he waited for her to fully face him, "You look pretty."

She smiled at him. All the worries about breaking up had finally subsided. She walked and squealed a bit before she regained herself back to control.

They weren't breaking up.

 **–**

When the last bell of the day rang, Anthony quickly stood up from his seat and sprinted out the school. Around this time Nina's parents would be leaving to work and if he wanted to sneak her wallet back into her room he had to do it now. He knew what could happen if he were to get caught, but only one thing concerned him. The stains Geb and Seth left in the day Nina was murdered have been cleared but his still remained.

As he slid her window open and stepped in, the familiar smell nearly brought his heart to ache. It smelled exactly like she did. He's only been in her room once and that was to comfort her, who knew the second time would be to save himself from her death?

The room was slightly dark so he walked towards her flashlight and turned it on. He brought out her wallet and searched for a place to put it. He knew he shouldn't leave it somewhere obvious because if he did her parents would know someone had gone into her room.

He searched all over the room before he finally found a place to leave it in: her drawer. He made his way towards it one step at a time, pausing to see if someone was approaching her room. He slowly slipped the wallet into a pair of her pants and before he could close it, an envelope sticking from out her pants caught his attention as well as an orange pharmaceutical bottle.

He pulled out the envelope and stood up.

At first, he thought there was money inside it but he was wrong. It was a letter. Anthony sat on her bed and opened up the letter before he read the first lines:

 _Dear,_

 _Mom and Dad_

 _I know that what I did was wrong, but i'm in a better place now. You guys are gonna feel sad and_

 _alone and I am sorry for that but I just couldn't. I couldn't do it. Not with what was happening with_

 _the family and with Geb. You're gonna feel like it was your fault for not knowing this was happening to me,_

 _I know you guys will. But I did such a great job of hiding it I sometimes believed it._

He brought the letter out of his gaze because he couldn't read any more. He couldn't read her suicide letter. He set it down and stared blankly at her carpet. Nina was going to kill herself.

What if that was why her murder was staged like a suicide?

He stared at it again and this time he was certain. What he read was true. It didn't make sense thought. She would never do anything like that. But she said so herself, she was hiding it. He was also surprised to see that the letter was typed in a cursive font. He picked up the letter again but stopped when a voice from just outside the room brought him to his feet.

"Honey, have you seen my coat?" a woman said in a very soft voice.

"I can't say I haven't," a man responded. It was her dad.

He hid beside her bed and scoot himself under it just enough so that he wouldn't be seen. He bit his tongue as the door creaked open and in walked the woman. He figured it was her mom.

She sighed loud enough for him to hear. The way she stepped and the way she talked proved to him that she was sad and had recently been crying. "Honey, we left her light on again."

The door closed again and Anthony got out from under her bed, he couldn't help but feel for her.

He pulled out his phone and took pictures of the letter before he paid attention to the bottle. There wasn't any label or description on the medication she was taking which worried him. He slipped it into his pocket before he left her room.

Matías opened the door to his home and stepped in. When he went to close it he spotted his grandma and he smiled at her. Taking off his sweater, he walked over to her and greeted her with a kiss in the cheek. "How are you doing abuela?"

"Wonderful, mijo. How was school?"

He sighed, "School is school. Hard and stressful. Did you take your medication?"

"Yes. Tengo una coartada. You can even ask Acacia." He believed his grandma and decided not to question anybody about it.

He made his way to his little sister who was sitting in the piano beside the staircase. "What will you play for me?" he asked her.

She turned to him and smiled, "I don't know. Remember, I charge."

"Hmmm," he squinted his eyes. "I don't pay you anything but I'll wash the dishes. Today's your day remember?"

"You're right."

"Go ahead."

Her gaze went from him to the keys as she ran her fingers along the keys creating a cheerful tone. He never really understood how she was the only child that got the ability to play an instrument. When he was in the fifth grade he could barely play the recorder and when Adriel was in the seventh grade he couldn't even drag his hand through a guitar string without breaking it.

"Just keep playing," he advised as soon as the twelve second tune she played ended. "and one day I will be the brother of a famous pianist."

She smiled at him. "And remember...my piano recital to get into WildFire is next year."

He sighed, "How can I forget, you remind me everyday."

Matías stood up from the chair and told his grandma he was going to shower before he head up the stairs. Once he was up there, his phone vibrated and a text message from Anthony popped up.

 **Anthony:** You won't believe what I just found. 

All he could do was sigh when he read it. He was in no mood to worry about what the news could be about so he chose not to. He replied and said that Anthony could tell him tomorrow.

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

If it was one thing Maya could change about high school, it was the passing times. She hated that she had to rush to class on certain periods. She hated it even more when she showed to class with missing assignments. As she searched for her highlighter in the small pocket on her backpack, a white note slipped out. She was confused because she didn't remember seeing a note in there earlier.

As she flipped it over, she remembered it was the same note that fell out of her locker the first day of school. She knew this because of the very same numbers written on it.

 **7-14-44**

But what were they for? What happened that day that was so important?

Maya had already done her digging. She visited the library for hours trying to gather as much information she could on this day but she ended up finding nothing. It sort of gave her the idea that the note could've been something that was part of a conspiracy. It took her a while to get the thought out of her head.

But she was still questioning why someone would place it in her locker if it had no use?

She grew frustrated and she swore she could rip it. But something stopped her. Something important.

"It's not a date," she muttered only loud enough for her to hear. "It's a pin."

Raising her hand as fast as she could, Maya asked if she could go to her locker. She was warned if she got out of her seat she would get a thirty-minute detention for not being prepared, but she didn't care. She got up anyways.

She ran towards the lockers while passing and nearly pushing people on the way. When she reached the hall where the locker was located, Maya slowed down and stopped running. She was out of breath but she didn't care.

She put the right pin in and placed her finger on the lever before she pushed it open with the side of her finger. She slowly opened it and when she saw that there was nothing, she grunted.

It was empty, but the more she looked at it the more she was convinced there was something hidden. Her hand touched every inch of the locker and when she reached the top, her fingers felt something. And then she heard it. She grabbed what felt like metal.

When her gaze went to it, she realized it wasn't just an object.

It was two keys.

 **–**

"Lucas," Riley said and this time she didn't let him ignore her. Her hand tightened on his bicep and he was a little surprised at the little strength she had that seemed to get a hold of him. "Why are you ignoring me?"

She waited for an answer. "Today, Lucas!"

"I'm not..." his words trailed off, it seemed like he wanted to tell her something but then he stopped. "I'm not ignoring you, I just need to take a break."

"A break?" she questioned. She was frustrated with him because of this. "We were never in a relationship - "

"That's not what this is," he began and stepped a little closer to her. "I found out about something, Riley. I'm not ready to tell you."

There was a hint of sadness in his words. He was hurt by what he found out about. Seeming a little less resigned, Riley loosened her grip on his bicep and removed her hand. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I just...I want to be alone."

Here's the thing about friendships: You never know who the right ones are.

She really thought that she and Lucas were gonna be close, and when she watched him leave, something told her that was the end of what they had. And it hurt her.

She had so much faith in their friendship.

And it couldn't last.

* * *

 **Writers Note: Let me know what you guys think and don't forget to review. I'm really excited for you to read the new upcoming story I have that will come out this winter. I hope you enjoy it.**

 **New story coming soon... ;)**

 **Follow, Favorite and Review**


	8. Chapter 8

**...**

 **Junior Year**

It was a weird concept for Anthony. Observing someone he once knew but now knows nothing of. Like someone he knew when he was younger knew almost nothing of you. As if someone has been with you-you're whole life but you haven't been with them for their's. He sat in a comfortable chair next to him, staring at his lips and then back to the paper his eyes were fixated on. His eyes would focus on his jawline before they would go to his brown eyes.

"It's that simple," Matías finished. "Do you understand it?"

He snapped out of his trance and coughed a little to create a distraction, "Umm…"

He knew he was being stared at when he read from the paper. It wasn't really hard to tell, just that he made it completely obvious. "Was there something on my face?"

"What? Of course not - "

"Is my face amusing or something?" he questioned. "Or am I just not worthy of your attention?"

He ran both his hands through his hair before he hung his head. "I just don't understand this."

"What if we have it this way," he began as he turned his chair to face him. He knew Anthony had trouble understanding new things. "For every answer you get right and for every question you ask, I'll talk to your teachers and I will have them minimize the amount of homework you're assigned."

"You can do that?"

"I can try. I mean I know almost every teacher, I'll see what I can do," he advised.

"Thank you. Now can you please explain this to me and make it as simple as you can possibly make it."

"Okay," he breathed. "So you know that the heart pumps blood, it gives you the nutrients and oxygen our tissues need."

"Yes. I do know that but how does the heart pump the blood?"

"The right side of the heart receives blood from the body and pumps it to the lungs. It then goes to our right atrium, and from there it goes through a valve called the tricuspid…" he stopped when Anthony struggled to find a pen and a piece of paper to jot down the newfound information. Once he did, Anthony stared at him with expectant eyes. Eyes that distracted him for a mere second. "Um…and from the tricuspid it moves to the right ventricle..."

Once Matías noticed the library was about to close he was in the middle of telling Anthony he put a semicolon in the right place. Anthony had spent that time thinking about how he was smiling and generally had a good time with him. They didn't just talk about their homework or diss each other, they talked about things other than that matter. And he didn't mind it. The library was empty and the day was dark meaning they overdid their tutoring session.

Anthony watched as Matías packed his stuff, as he began to walk away he jogged a little to catch up with him. "Do you need a ride?" he asked.

"A ride?"

He nodded, "A ride home. I can take you."

They stood there quiet for a second before he finally accepted.

 **–**

When Riley saw Geb standing there in front of the hallway she was approaching, she figured he was waiting for her. As she got closer and his eyes found her she knew for sure he wanted to talk to her. He gestured to the open door in a classroom she had never been in before and without wanting to argue or ignore him she obliged.

As soon as he closed the door, it was like he was letting out a pile of emotions all at once, "I've tried, Riley. I really tried but I just can't. I can't do this."

She raised a brow, "You can't do what?"

"I can't be your friend, Riley. It sucks, it's hard."

Her jaw clenched and her gaze hardened on him. "It's been less than three days."

"I don't care. I'm being friend-zoned."

She pressed her books closer to her chest and sighed. She really thought he could do it. That he could finally realize that they could potentially be better as friends rather than boyfriend and girlfriend. "Well, there's no other way. You won't be in my life if all you wanna do is date me."

He stopped her from walking towards the door, "Riley. You can't deny that what we had was great. It was amazing and exciting. We both know it."

"Or maybe that's what you felt. All of that ended when I realized what you did," she pressed her finger against his firm chest for emphasis. "I shouldn't have agreed to be your friend. This was a mistake."

Again, he stopped her from leaving. "Why are you acting like this? What I did was stupid, I know. I learned my lesson."

"Stupid?" she yelled at him. "My friend could have died because of something you did."

"I'm sorry," he yelled. "I've said it a million times. I fucked up! What else do you want me to do?"

There was a lingering silence before Riley spoke again. "I gave you a chance, but you blew it."

He stared at her with complete anger and emptiness. The anger wasn't directly aimed at her more like what they were arguing about. His attention turned to the front door when a teacher called out to them.

"We were just talking," he lied.

"Class will start soon, I suggest the both of you get going."

He stepped back from her and picked up his backpack before leaving the room.

Riley closed her eyes and sighed. She really did hate arguing with people but with Geb it was inevitable. Ever since she found out about what he did they had been arguing constantly. When she broke up with him she thought the problem would go away and that they would never talk to each other again but she was wrong. He constantly texted her and called for weeks and fortunately, he stopped. During this time summer was coming to an end and school was starting soon. She figured he gave up and moved on but that changed when Maya told her he talked to her.

Riley looked at the room she was in. It was filled with bookshelves and a whole bunch of old computers that probably didn't even work anymore. There was dust on the keyboards and spider webs on the wall. She was preparing to leave when an old-school newspaper caught her attention. On the front page was a picture of a cheer leading team.

She picked it up and walked out the room.

 **–**

Seth opened the main door to the school and waited for his brother Josh to enter. He was so focused on his phone he didn't even see where he was going. His eyes trailed to his phone long enough to see the screen for just a second. Missy's name caught his attention.

"Since when do you talk to her?" he asked him. Just then his eyes went to the graduation posters on the wall. He rolled his eyes because every year at this point in time, they were told to look ahead into their education and figure out what college they want to go to. In fact, he wasn't sure if college was the best thing for him. His grades were nowhere near perfect and the only reason he made it this far was that he was a good player in every sport he played. His team relied on him to take them far and to win every game. He tucked his hands into his pockets and stared at his brother.

"Since when do you care?" Was all Josh had to say.

"Since you're with Maya and not with Missy," Seth retaliated.

His brother chuckled as if he had something to say but chose not too. "She's been texting me non-stop about the yearbook. It's almost complete and her page still needs three more pictures. Since I'm the photographer, she's been texting me non-stop, sending me on trips almost an hour away from here, making me stop at her house late at night it's all - " he turned his phone off. "She's paying me so that's the good thing I'm getting out of it."

"In what?" Seth questioned. "Blowjobs?"

"Wouldn't be too bad," Josh said. "Could totally use one."

He stared at his brother, "You mean you and Maya haven't…" he made sexual gestures to show what he was trying to say.

He shook his head no, "She's a sophomore. We hardly kiss."

"I'm a sophomore and I kiss girls all the time."

"Because you, my brother, don't understand commitment."

"Apparently you don't either," he retaliated as his eyes adverted to the graduation poster once again.

"Wait...you think Missy and I are hooking up, don't you?" he questioned his younger brother.

"Well, yeah. Haven't you guys?" He didn't have time to hear what Josh was saying because as soon as he said that, Kayla Coleman a close friend of Nina, walked passed him. She was talking about Nina to her friend and he couldn't help but pay attention to it.

"The police ransacked her room. And get this, they found her phone. Everyone knows she had her phone that night. She posted stuff on Snapchat so how the hell did her phone end up in her room?"

Seth furrowed his brows, "Anthony has her phone," he muttered.

"What?" Josh asked.

"Uh, nothing," he quickly said. "It's nothing. I'll catch up with you later."

He turned his full attention back to Kayla once Josh began to walk away, "I mean everyone knows they did it. She was with them the night she died. I wished these stupid cops can just do their jobs already."

Seth adverted himself so he can see her and once he did, Kayla's eyes were on him. For the first time in a really long time, he was petrified. He quickly jogged up the stairs wanting to get as far from her as possible.

 **–**

"Get in the picture," Maya told Josh as they waited for their food at Poet's. Ever since they started talking to each other Maya had grown more comfortable with him. "You're not getting in the picture."

He kissed her forehead and just then she took it. It looked adorable. "We look cute."

Josh smiled before he kissed her lips this time, "You're cute."

When they signaled Josh and told him that the food was ready, Maya caught sight of his phone. It had just turned on. The thing that caught her attention wasn't what made his phone turn on in the first place, it was the picture he had. It was them when they were younger.

She brought it closer to her eyes and she saw that she was smiling at him while he held a handful of cake in his hand. Everything would've gone great had she not noticed what caused the phone to turn on. But, curiosity took over once again as she chose to read the notification. It was Missy.

 **We'll do it again tonight. I had fun.**

 _There's nothing wrong with the message_ , was her first thought. But Josh lied about where he was. He told her that he couldn't be with her because he had homework. Homework didn't mean he drove to Missy's house to be with her.

The reason they drifted apart in the first place was because he had homework, because he was too busy. She hated that now they were falling back into what they just came back out of.

Choosing to place the phone back, Maya deleted the picture they had taken with each other and ignored him for the rest of the day. She didn't make it so that he knew, but she was disappointed in him.

She trusted him for a really long time and now she wasn't sure she could.

"Are you ready to go?"

She nodded but she didn't take his hand when he reached out to her.

 **–**

Anthony stared at the blank document on his computer. His eyes were fixated on the cursor as he ran a hand through his hair. Now how was he supposed to compare modern USA government with ancient Rome government if he didn't even know how to type a proper essay without being told he used the wrong meaning of a word or he wasn't fact-checking his work? He sighed and took out his phone. Before he could type a message and send it to Matías, Seth walked into his room and closed his door.

"You're stupid, you know that?" he barked.

He was taken aback for a second before he formulated his next words, "Knock!"

"I heard Kayla talking about the police finding her phone in her room when you had it. You're a real idiot."

He abruptly stood up from his chair and pressed a finger against his mouth hoping Seth would lower his voice. "I put the phone back because the police would trace it. They'd easily find out it was me."

It made sense, but it still didn't answer his question. "But why in her room? We could have driven to the place they found her body and left it there - "

"The roads are blocked. Don't you think that's exactly what I would have done? They found the old warehouse students go to smoke pot and do all sorts of drugs, it's closed. And so are those roads we took."

Seth calmed himself down, "I just don't get what we're gonna say now. Did you know Nina posted stuff that night?"

"She did?" he asked. "I didn't see anything."

He leaned against his wall and folded his arms, "What are the cops going to think when they find out her phone was in her house?"

He sighed, "That her killers are trying to cover their tracks."

"Now we have Kayla going around telling her friends she thinks we did it. What if she talks to the police and they list us as suspects? It's game over. Everyone in school is staring at me and now you're saying there is a detective working on her case?" he sat down on his bed and breathed. "I can't do this. If my dad finds out about this…or my mom…" he leaned his head down and breathed. "I liked Nina, she was a good friend but I'm not going to have my future and my freedom stripped from me because of her death."

Anthony sat down next to him. "That guy Nina was seeing before she died, that's who placed the phone in her room. Understand?"

He nodded. "So many lies."

Seth was right. And there would be more.

 **–**

 _Earlier That Day_

 _Before school even started,_ _Matías and Anthony met up because he really wanted to tell him the news he found. They sat at a bench just a few feet from the river in the early morning. It was peaceful and a very good place to meet._

 _"What'd you want to tell me?" he asked as soon as he sat on the bench. He was three minutes late but that didn't matter._

 _"Nina tried to kill herself," he told him without hesitation._

 _"What do you mean she tried to kill herself?"_

 _"I found her suicide letter...and I read it."_

 _There was a silence for a few lingering seconds, "Do you think that's why her killers tried to make it look like a suicide?"_

 _He didn't know. He was still hurt from what he read. "Do you think they knew her?"_

 _"There's a chance, yeah."_

 _"Oh, Nina," he muttered. The river reminded him of her. When they were younger and in the seventh grade, it was Nina's idea that they get wet in the river because it would be the last time they got to hang out before they went their separate ways. That summer, Geb and Nina went to New York for the week. Kayla was visiting her family in Chicago and Seth was going away to football camp. Anthony, he was staying home by himself while his parents worked everyday. He wished he could go back to that day. He really did. "I wanna know who killed her."_

 _"We will,"_ _Matías_ _informed. "When my brother gets enough information he will know."_

 _"That's not what I meant. I want to know who murdered her and the only way I can get the answers I want...is if I look for them myself."_

 _"You want to investigate her murder?" he questioned._

 _He nodded very confidently. "I want you to help me."  
_

 _"I don't know, Anthony - "_

 _"Look," he gestured towards him to get his full attention. "I knew you would say that. But think about it, we have something the police doesn't. We know Nina. I know some of the people she talked to, I know who she used and who she hated. I just need your help getting the answers out of them."_

 _"Do you think they will talk?"_

 _"There's only one way to find out," he said. "Are you in?"_

 _He didn't know. He knew that they had advantages, but were they enough to find out who killed her? Finally releasing a sharp breath, he nodded. "I'm in."_

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

Lucas sat surrounded in a pile of papers and documents his parents left behind. His aunt had kept them because they contained information regarding their finance and other things like Lucas' birth certificate. He fell down a hole when he found various letters all addressed to a home in New York. He was confused but when he started to read the letters he knew why. His mom had kept in contact with Harper's mom even after they moved. He didn't know what to wrap his mind around because everything seemed to connect yet there was so much missing. Like the reason why Harper's family chose to move and why his parents told her she was dead.

He read along the lines of the letters and when he stopped reading he sighed. The history between his parents and Harper's didn't start when they were bringing them to pre-school back when they were young, it started when his parents and her parents were in high school.

So why did you move? he asked himself.

He set the letters down when he got a text message from his aunt. She was telling him that she would be home late from work and that he could just order pizza.

It was a long day and it was about to be an even longer night.

 **...**

 **Sophomore Year**

Geb played with his younger brother in the living room that now looked like a children's playroom. His dad cooked dinner in the kitchen and smiled because he loved watching both his son's interact with each other. There was nothing more that made him happier in the world. Eden was three years old and had the energy of a horse. He ran and ran and ran but never got tired. Geb didn't know how he did it.

He decided to sit down, as instructed, and watched as his brother clasped his hands with each other and stood in front of him. He did this every time his dad or Geb told him he had to spell out different colors.

"B-L-U-E spells blue," he said.

"It does," Geb said in amazement and watched as his brother smiled and jumped up and down.

"R-E-D spells red," he squeezed his eyes and thought real hard on that one. "Daddy said that's his favorite color."

"That's right," he yelled from the kitchen. "Can you spell Wonderland?"

"I don't know that word," he said. "It's hard."

A knock on the door distracted his dad from cutting the bell peppers into thin strips. He set the knife down and walked towards the door which wasn't far from where he stood. As the door swung open, he was acquainted with a man wearing a tie and a button up, his hair combed to the side. "Mr. Carter?"

"Yes?"

"I'm Detective Reyes," he introduced himself and showed his badge. "I would like to ask your son some questions regarding Nina Michael's death. Can he come down to the precinct tonight?"

Geb sat in the living room with widened eyes as his brother placed his hand on his hair. He always liked playing with it.

There wasn't any where he could hide, he couldn't run either; he just had to talk to him.

He just hoped everything would turn out all right.

* * *

 **Writers Note: Thank you so much for reading. Let me know what you think.**

 **Follow, Favorite and Review**


	9. Chapter 9

**...**

 **Sophomore Year**

The drive to the precinct was long and it made Geb feel uneasy. He spent the entire time formulating what he was going to say. He couldn't say the truth and he couldn't tell the wrong lie. When his dad and him arrived, they went up the elevator and onto the second floor. As if it couldn't get any worse, just at the end of the hall stood Kayla. She was walking directly towards them but hesitated a little when she saw them. Geb looked away from her not even wanting their eyes to meet, he continued to walk.

At some point, they would have to walk past each other and he dreaded that. Ever since Nina died, she had done everything to blame him. She was convinced it was his fault. Because of this he was truly scared. Kayla must've said something that made him look completely guilty.

Kayla despised him and he never bothered to ask why. He never wanted to. When he walked passed her it was as if he could feel every inch of her hate towards him. He wished he could tell her that he didn't do it and the only thing he should be blamed for is leaving her. Kayla's parents trailed after her not too long after, looking worried.

He entered the interrogation room and waited for several minutes. He tapped his finger on the table and sighed, mentally replaying all the lies he was prepared to tell. By the time the detective entered the room he was already sweating and playing with his fingers.

The detective set a few papers down on the table and circled him before he sat back down again.

"I take it that you and Nina have been dating for quite the while?" he asked Geb. "How long have you guys known each other?"

"Since the fourth grade," he answered.

"Were you with her the night she was murdered?"

He nodded, "We went to a spot out by the mountains. She suggested that we take the back roads so we get there faster."

"Who's we?" he asked.

"My friends Seth Carrion and Anthony Jimenez," he answered.

"Was this her idea? Or someone else's?"

"This was her idea. She said that she wanted to hang out, I didn't think there's anything else to it."

"Can you tell us more about the night she was murdered? What did you guys do? How was she acting? Did she look tired? Did she say something that may have been out of the contrary?"

"When we found our spot, Seth and I started a fire. We talked, she drank , but when it started getting late I told her it was time we leave and she got angry. She refused to go. I tried to calm her down and get her to talk to me but...she got violent. She was scared, I've never seen her act like that. Like as if it was the end for her. I thought it was because she was drunk but then she started mumbling these words saying that "he's" going to hurt her and that "he" knows where she lives. When I reached for her she turned her back on us and ran away. That was the last time I saw her."

"Do you by any chance happen to know who this "he" is?" he asked.

Geb didn't know what to say. If he said yes, then he would have to explain how the man looks like - which he didn't know. But he could say that Nina had always been talking about a guy but she would never tell him how he looked like or who he was. That would have them looking in the other direction. If he said he didn't know how the guy looked like, they would have to start from nothing. Which, he hoped, would take more time and derail the investigation towards them.

After he finished thinking it through, he looked up from his hand and back at the detective, "I don't know who he is."

They continued to talk for a few more hours. He was being asked questions about her overall being and how she acted at school.

Eventually, he made it home late at night.

When he walked in his room, he walked towards his phone and immediately saw four messages from Seth and Anthony. As he read them through he found out that Detective Reyes questioned them before he questioned him. He just hoped they didn't blow up the only chance of being cleared as suspects.

 **–**

"For five hours," Anthony informed as he rested on a seat in an empty classroom. He was talking to Matías while he tried his best to get comfortable. "Your brother was asking questions we didn't even think about. I didn't know what to say."

"Yeah," he sighed. "He's unpredictable."

Anthony hung his head, "He was asking me questions about Aaron. I guess he talked to them too."

"He did?"

"Yeah. Aaron and Nina had something going on during the time she was with Geb."

"Wait," Matías was suddenly wrapped up in an idea. "What if that's who _we_ talk to?"

"I don't follow..."

"We talk to the people closest to Nina. The people who actually - "

He stopped talking when the front door of the classroom opened. Kayla walked in and set her things down before she spoke, "I want in."

They looked at each other before looking back at her. "In on what?"

"On whatever you guys are doing," she said waving her finger around, "I'm not dumb. I've been watching you guys for days now."

Matías was the first to admit they were in on something. He just didn't have the energy to argue back in forth with her. "You're no help."

"I'm no help?" she questioned as she crossed her hands and raised her brow. "I've known Nina ever since I was little. I know things about her you guys wouldn't even imagine. Has she even told you guys about the intruder who broke into her home?"

They shook their head no and Anthony sighed. Kayla was Nina's friend but she wasn't _their_ friend. They only talked a handful of times but the last time they ever spoke was when he tried to calm her down when she and Geb argued. It didn't end well.

"Plus," she began again. "You guys are probably doing a better job than the police themselves."

He looked up at her brown eyes. He hated to admit that she was right. Kayla was an asset to whatever they were doing. "You're in."

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

"Mr. Hyde?" the woman at the front desk called out to a very busy principal, "Riley Matthews is here to see you."

"Thanks, Betty," he said and gave out a gesture. He figured it would be nice to be distracted from the matters he was dealing with, "Let her in."

She stepped back from the door and let Riley enter not too long after.

Riley muttered a 'thank you' to the woman and smiled at him before she took her seat on a chair in front of his. "I was hoping I could talk to you about something."

"And what would that be?" his fingers left his keyboard and his attention turned to hers before he waited for her response. For a single second, Riley realized that he was actually handsome for his age. Not that she would date him, just that he wasn't so bad to look at.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper, "I didn't know our school had a newspaper," Riley told him.

Hyde reached for it as soon as Riley extended her hand, he smiled once he saw it. "This was back when I was in your grade," he informed as he took the paper. Riley watched as his face lit up when he saw the pictures on the front cover. "This was the year after I moved here."

"I found it in an old room just a few doors from here. I just happened to walk by it and I saw it." That last part was a complete lie. She had just finished arguing with Geb once she saw it.

"Was this what you wanted to speak with me about?" he asked her and Riley nodded.

"Now if you turn it around," she guided and he did so. "You can see a picture of you."

He smiled, "Oh man!" he was a little embarrassed. "I'm sure there are other things you wanted to talk about, right?"

She nodded, "I want to revive it."

"The picture?" he asked rather confused.

She shook her head no, "I want to revive the newspaper...just differently"

His lips turned into a flat line.

"I mean think about it. There's a school dance on the way, a football game coming up, so many important things that some students miss out on."

Before he could say anything in response, a notification on his computer popped up. "I'll see what I can do, but this won't go anywhere if you don't have anything to fund it with. Or people to work by at your side."

"I'll think of something, I promise."

"Very well," he nodded. "I'll need the room to myself so if - "

"I also wanted to make it my senior project," she informed. "The newspaper will be distributed electronically."

He was surprised with her thinking. "I'll see what I can do," was all he could tell her on such short notice.

 **–**

Lucas didn't sleep the night before. Instead, he spent hours reading the letters his mom exchanged with Harper's mom. He drank coffee to keep himself up and at times he would shower with cold water.

The letter in his hand talked about the relationship between their moms. Harper's mom was named Regina after her mom died, but in a different letter, Lucas' mom - Megan - calls Regina her aunt. He knew this meant they were related, cousins maybe. He searched multiple boxes trying to find a picture of them or some kind but he found nothing. It wasn't until he opened a different letter when the picture slipped out. It was them together at the school he was attending now.

Megan was carrying Regina bridal style as they posed for a picture.

This picture was taken the same year his dad and her mom started to date.

"So why did you two break up?" he asked himself.

 **–**

"And just why are we here?" Josh asked Riley as he slumped onto the couch cushions during their break from class. He looked at the familiar faces but stopped when he saw Maya's, they stared at each other for a quick second before they went back to Riley's.

Riley took note of what she saw. There was something clearly still going on between them, she really hoped that somewhere between their staring exchanges lied a reasonable amount of feelings towards the other. She dismissed the thought and explained why she invited them here. "There's an old room just down that hallway that is completely empty, well minus the spider webs, dust, and the old equipment. The point is, I found something," she took out the folded school newspaper from her back pocket and handed it to Farkle. Once it was in his hand's everyone turned their heads towards him and stared at it.

"Oh my God, that's Hyde," Maya laughed. "He was such a twig back then."

"Is that a beard?" questioned Josh as he observed it from his seat, which wasn't too close to the rest of the group. "Yee, who knew?"

"The picture's not the point," Riley chimed in but everyone was too focused on making fun of their principal. "Guys." They didn't listen to her. "Guys," she said clapping her hands. "I want to revive the school's newspaper."

"Revive it?" questioned Isadora. "How would you do that?"

"Hyde said if I can come up with a way to fundraise for it, he would consider it. And I have an idea but if it works and he lets me publish the first very school newspaper since it was shut down, I'll need your guy's help."

They all looked at each other not knowing why she would need their help.

"Can you guys help me out with it?" They looked unsure. Especially Josh and Maya. "I'll convince him to let this be our senior project. All five of us. Please," she begged. "Pretty please?"

"I don't see why not," Isadora agreed.

"Yeah. It wouldn't be that hard, would it?"

"Yes!" Riley cheered. "And it'll be done electronically which means you two will be doing a lot of coding. Farkle, you'll need to create an app." He nodded and Riley looked at Maya, "Is there not a single hint of excitement you have for this? It's a great idea."

"It is, Riley, but...I don't know if it's for me. What would I even do?"

"You'll be the designer, my co-writer, you can be the one who does the student interviews," Riley tried her best to convince her. "Please?"

"Ooh, what would Farkle and I do...besides the coding?" Isadora asked.

"You guys have the most important job: graphic designers, you'll also be the ones who are in charge of collecting the data. Like how many people read it and other things."

"And what would I do if I decide to join this...club?" Josh asked, seeing everyone was already tasked with a job.

"You're the school's best photographer, you'll be doing the same job you would normally do for the yearbook. But, since you're only one person I was hoping maybe you could let Maya help you out?"

"Oh," their eyes went to each other for a quick second and then returned to her. "Um, yeah, I guess," he stammered. "That wouldn't be a bad idea."

"Good. So we're settled?" After receiving a couple nods they all began to stand up but then sat back down when Farkle asked if Riley would be able to gain access to any computers.

"Actually Farkle, I was hoping maybe you would be able to help with that," she began. "Your dad must own hundreds of them, think he could be generous enough to lend us some?"

"I can try to talk to him," Farkle informed. "We'll see what he says."

 **...**

 **Sophomore Year**

"I didn't know you could drive?" Riley said as she watched Geb park her car in front of her home. She watched as he lowered the window and winked at her through his sunglasses.

"Are you ready?" he asked as his eyes trailed down to the cleavage she was exposing. Riley wore a white lace beach cover-up dress with her hair in two braids.

"Yeah," she opened the door to the car but then stopped. "I almost forgot the picnic basket. I'll be right back." She closed the door and Geb lowered his sunglasses in order to get a clear view as she walked away, a smirk forming on his lips.

When she returned to him with the basket in her hand Geb started the car and drove.

 **–**

"When you said we were going somewhere quiet," Riley began as she stared at the view in front of her. "I didn't think we'd drive all the way over here."

Geb got out the car and walked towards her, "I told you I wanted us to be alone, didn't I?" His gaze went up to his craftsman style cabin about the size of any big house and then to Riley's, the look of amazement suit her features well.

"Geb this house is huge. Who's is it?"

"It's mine. Well, not yet. When I'm 18 I'm gonna live here," he gestured to the place in front of them. "Do you like it?"

"Yes," she answered. "I do. It's a really pretty house."

He took out his keys from his pocket and walked towards the door. After opening it Riley was the first to walk in, she was still mesmerized by the house or "cabin"- in his words. It was a perfect representation of beauty is hidden. She placed the basket on the kitchen counter and when she turned around Geb was nowhere to be seen. Then she heard a splash. She figured he had already jumped in the swimming pool.

She walked through the glass door and saw Geb's discarded shirt on the floor as well as his sandals. As she searched for him in the pool she saw the jacuzzi as well as the treehouse on the right of the yard. Up ahead was a big mountain range that was endless with a sunset that made it even more beautiful. Geb rose from the water and smiled at her.

"You didn't even wait for me," she said to him.

He laughed, "Sorry, I got too excited." They stood there smiling at each other. "Are you coming in?"

"Yeah, just let me put my phone away." When Riley returned from inside the cabin Geb watched as she peeled off her cover-up. She wore a white bikini revealing her toned stomach. He realized he was having his thoughts about her again, but the effect she had on him was enough. He didn't stop staring until her eyes landed on him and just then he whistled at her. Like a catcall.

She stepped down the stairs to the pool with a smile from ear to ear as he swam to her. He reached her in a handful of seconds, his body standing just in front of her, close to her and she didn't mind. She smiled at him before her eyes trailed down to his broad shoulders and eventually his chiseled physique.

He smiled when he noticed where her eyes were going. She looked at him the way he looked at her. He took a step closer to her and placed his hand on her chin, his blue eyes fixated on her brown ones. Just as their lips were centimeters apart Riley had splashed water on him. He did the same to her and eventually picked her up, sending the both of them down into the water.

 **–**

"So..." Aaron was the first to break the silence as he stared at the three standing figures in front of him. Kayla was sandwiched in between Anthony and Matías, he was finding it really hard to just sit there. "We're not gonna talk?"

"We are," she nodded and stared at him.

"Can we talk?" he asked noticing that the silence was extremely awkward.

"What did you know about Nina?" Anthony blurted out as soon as Aaron finished his sentence.

Kayla and Matías turned their heads to him at the same time. They agreed to bring it on discreetly and he had done the complete opposite.

"I didn't know much," he answered and looked at his hands. It was like the questions brought a whole new wave of emotions on him.

"It's okay," Kayla tried to reassure him. While doing so she stood in front of Aaron and he couldn't see the exact moment Matías slapped the back of Anthony's head. "We shouldn't have brought him here."

He looked up at them, "You guys wanna know about Nina, don't you?"

They didn't say yes or no.

"I wanna help."

"What do you know?" she asked him.

"I know that she knew something was gonna happen to her," he told them and watched as he got their interest like that. "She sent me this."

Matías grabbed his phone as soon as he extended it to them.

 **You were a good friend**

They looked at each other and exchanged looks.

This just got a whole lot more complicated.

 **–**

As soon as Aaron and Kayla walked out the room together, Anthony was first to question if it was a great idea having her in on what they were doing. He didn't feel like it was a smart idea, he feared that she would get too attached.

"You didn't tell her about the pills, right?" Matías asked him and he shook his head no.

"I don't think I plan on doing so."

He nodded because he understood. There were things they needed to do to protect Kayla from reaching her breaking point.

"I just don't know," Anthony expressed his disapproval. "It doesn't feel right."

Matías kept his gaze out the window. They were focused on Kayla and Aaron who seemed to share a hug before he walked off. "Disapprove or not...she's gonna get the answers we need."

 **–**

The sun had set and the moon had risen. Geb checked his phone from the corner of the pool where Riley sat with her feet in the water and the picnic basket to the side of her. The time read 9:27 pm.

"You should really eat your sandwich," she began as she finished hers. "It's really good."

He chuckled, "Hand me mine, please."

They ate their sandwiches and talked. For the time being, he would occasionally stare into her eyes and smile. The way the moonlight shined on her features and how she concentrated on the stain in her hand warmed him.

After they were finished eating, Geb stood in front of her as he placed himself between her feet. She still sat on the concrete while he was in the pool. "Hi," he said.

"Hey," she smiled.

"There's this really pretty girl," he began and she smiled.

"Really?" Riley asked him pretending not to know that this was one of his little games. "What's her name?"

"…her name is Riley Matthews."

"She sounds pretty."

"She is pretty," he said with absolute confidence. "And the thing is I've been crushing on her ever since the sixth grade when she kicked a soccer ball straight at my stomach."

Riley laughed, "Well she didn't mean to."

"Whether she did or whether she didn't, she blew me away - literally," he leaned into her lips, "And now, she's standing here in front of me…looking the most beautiful she's ever been…"

He stepped back as Riley slipped into the pool and when she did he pressed his forehead against hers, his chest touching her as well, "…and I really want to kiss her."

"So what's stopping you?" As soon as she said that his lips came into contact with hers. It wasn't one of those pecks on the lips, it was a kiss with passion. Their tongues battled with each other until eventually Riley caved and let him take control. She felt his hands travel beneath the water and to her waist. He pressed her close to him many times, hardly trying to let go of the one thing he's wanted for many years. Their legs were intertwined with each other so she could easily feel him growing against her. "I probably taste like ham," she muttered under her breath as they pulled away.

Geb breathed against her, shaking his head no. "I hate it that I have you take you home."

"We'll see each other Monday," she told him.

"Why not tomorrow?"

"Because I can't. I'm hanging out with Maya and Matías."

"I didn't know he was your friend," he told her. Long before he remembered hating him because he always made Riley smile and laugh as they passed him through the hallways.

"I met him in the eighth grade, he's like a brother to me," she checked the time on his phone. "We should really get going…"

"Ugh," he joked and she laughed. "There's a bathroom down the hall," he pointed towards the doors, "It's the first door to the right."

Riley walked out of the bathroom with shorts, sandals and a flowy top. Her hair was grabbed up in a bun and free from her shoulders. She made her way through the hallway and into the living room where Geb waited for her, but before she could she found an open room with something that caught her attention. She peeked her head through before entering the room.

On the walls of the room were over a dozen guns displayed on the walls as well as on the counters. She was overwhelmed. Before she could leave the room Geb had joined her, "There's a safe with ammo, in case you want to see it." He stood there leaning against the door with his hands crossed.

Riley flinched at his voice and quickly turned around to face him, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. The door was open and I just walked in."

He smiled, "No, don't worry about it. My dad and I like to hunt and we often go out to do it."

She turned back to see the guns and eventually a picture of him and his dad after a hunt. Geb stood just above a dead deer. "You and your dad do this."

He nodded, "We don't do it as much. With the remains of the deer, we give it to a local food bank."

"I didn't know you could shoot a gun," she informed him. "What's the name of this one?" She said as she touched a long gun.

"Just a simple shotgun - " he advised her but stopped when Riley interrupted him.

"Say hello to my little friend," she played around as she pulled the gun from its place.

"Hey, Riley be careful with that. If you fire it that way you'll go flying backward from the recoil."

"Oh," she said aware of the impact and damage it can cause her. She slowly settled the gun back into its place and walked to him. "I think we should go now."

He smiled at her and gestured for her to leave the room first. "Maybe one day I'll show you how to shoot a gun, you know, the proper way."

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

"Remind me why I said yes to this?" asked Matías as he set aside a whole bunch of dried grass. Anthony invited him on a hike and he agreed because he would have time away from home. He didn't know it would just be the two of them.

They had been hanging out for quite some time but he never expected that Anthony would be the first to want to hang out with him alone. Last year didn't end on a good note for the two, after all.

"You said yes because you wanted this," he informed and climbed over a fallen tree trunk. "Plus, thought we could lay off the studying for a change."

He nodded and climbed over the trunk. He landed on his feet but just then a sharp pain vibrated through his foot.

Letting out a light groan, he leaned on the trunk and raised his foot.

"Wh-what happened?" Anthony said as he turned back to look at him.

"My foot," he responded. "Something hurts."

Anthony bent down on one knee and examined his foot. It looked fine to him and it didn't seem like he broke it or anything close to that. "It's fine. You're not used to this kind of thing."

Matías glared at him before he continued on with his hike.

"Our bench is just a few minutes from here," he informed. "Haven't been there since May."

"I," he began before he turned to him. "...don't care."

He chuckled and passed him before he walked down the hill. They walked for a few more minutes before Anthony finally found the river. "C'mon. Let's get in."

He didn't hesitate to kick off his shoes before his hands went to his shirt. As soon as it had come off him, Matías eyes trailed down to the noticeable scare just below his rib cage. He didn't say anything about it.

The scar was a reminder of a primary reason of why they stopped being friends.

"I don't know," he said as he looked towards the river. "I don't do cold water."

"C'mon," his shorts were off now. "You wouldn't wanna wait for me, now would you?"

Anthony was wearing nothing but his boxer briefs. Without the clothes, he had a decent physique. His muscles were evident and his structured abs were noticeable too.

Meanwhile, Matías was the complete opposite. He was never the athletic type and at times he felt intimidated by it. For someone who hadn't played sports ever since he was in the sixth grade, he was pretty decent too. His body was nowhere near someone with a belly, but he wasn't a full on six pack either.

"I guess not," he responded and watched as Anthony jumped in. He came back out and wiped the water from his face.

"Are you coming in or not?" he asked as he pushed himself back. The water was cold but nothing he wasn't used to.

Normally it took a while to convince him of something like this, but this time it was different. He quickly stripped himself of his clothes and made his way in. The water was way too cold for him.

At one point he stepped back, but that changed once Anthony pulled on him.

Time passed by fast that that day, but they didn't mind. They enjoyed it.

At one point he stopped to stare at him, to take in the time they had back then.

What would happen if he gave their friendship another try?

It's not like he had anything more to lose.

* * *

 **Writers Note: Thank you guys so much for reading. This will be the last update for a while now until the 4th of January. Only like four more chapters after this one and you guys find out who killed Nina. Aghhhh! It's coming so soon. And then there is another story that is coming out next month.**

 **Have a nice Christmas and celebrate the New Year because a new chapter in your lives is gonna start soon.**

 **Follow, Favorite and Review**


	10. Chapter 10

**Writers Note: This is the first chapter of 2018. It's sort of hard to believe it because in a couple of months it's going to be a year since I ever came up with the idea of this story. If it wasn't for my decision to rewrite the entire series then I don't know where we would be in this. I hope you guys enjoyed the holidays and spent them close with your families. This story is no where near close to ending but I have been writing and mapping out the next, future chapters. I hope you guys enjoy and let me know what you guys think.**

 **...**

 **Sophomore Year**

 _Creak! Creak! Creak!_

A noise coming from downstairs woke Anthony right up. One eye opened staring straight at the door to his room. He caught sight of something that had just walked passed it. He preferred to sleep with the door open ever since the day Nina died.

Silently, he sat upright and removed the covers that were keeping him warm. He quietly stepped on the carpet and left his room, looking both ways in the hallway before he fully stepped out.

"Mom?" he called out.

There was no response.

"Dad?"

It only took a noise coming from the kitchen to help him realize that his parents wouldn't be coming home tonight. They were out visiting their friends because they were the godparents to their child who was recently being baptized this weekend.

His hand went straight to the glass sculpture his mom kept on the stand right next to him. He needed something to defend himself with him just in case someone was actually in the house.

His wooden stairs were squeaky and old and noisy. He figured it was a good thing because that meant that the person had a chance to realize he wasn't alone.

He was wrong. As soon as he reached the end of the stairs he came face to face with someone. He was sure it was a someone because he saw them freeze in their steps. All he could see was their silhouette but it was enough to know it was a guy.

His hands gripped the object in his hand. He was prepared to defend himself if anything happened. But before he could act on anything, the person quickly ran out of his house knocking down the things on the counter.

At times he struggled to know what was a dream or not.

He knew for sure this wasn't.

 **–**

"I am telling you someone was there," he said absolutely positive that what he saw was real. He couldn't believe his friends thought he was making this all up. "Why would I lie about this?"

"We're not saying you did," Kayla informed him but from the looks of it, it didn't help.

"Anthony, you used to have nightmares all the time. What if this is one of them?" Matias questioned as he waited for the first bell to ring. It had become a daily thing for them to meet in the student's lounge before school started.

"No," he nearly yelled. He was trying to convince them but every time they spoke against him it made him question if it really did happen. "I...I wasn't having a nightmare. It was real."

There was a minutes silence, "Nina's house was broken into and the day I tell you, it happens to you. I mean...c'mon, this was just your mind playing tricks with you."

He ran both hands through his hair, something he did when he was frustrated. "I can't believe my own friends don't believe me."

The bell rang and he walked out with complete anger written all over him. Matias wanted to talk to him but maybe he needed the exact opposite.

Sometimes it was better to do nothing.

 **–**

During their second to last period, both Maya and Riley help restore books in their proper place inside the library. While doing so, something was off between them.

They weren't talking as much as they normally did. They would occasionally speak but then there was a silence to wash over it.

Riley hated to admit it, but she was starting to realize that their friendship was drifting apart.

As Maya placed the book on a shelf, Riley felt a sudden coup of words escape her tongue. "Geb and I went on date."

This surely grasped Maya's attention. She was caught in between placing a book on the shelf but as soon as her eyes met Riley's, they widened. "You what?"

"We went on a date," she clarified.

"When was this?" she found herself asking, dropping everything and paying attention to her instead of what she was supposed to be doing.

"Over the weekend. We went to his house and yeah, that's basically it."

"That's it?" Maya asked. Something was missing and she was absolutely positive about it.

Riley shook her head no and told her the full truth. "We kissed."

This came as a surprise to her. "Was that the first time?"

Riley nodded. It was the first time they kissed. The more she thought about it the happier it made her. She genuinely liked him despite the midst of things.

Riley knew it was better to trust with your heart than your judgments.

Maya didn't exactly hate nor love the idea. She was fine with her friend dating someone like Geb because if Riley liked him, he must've been doing something right. But then why weren't they together at school just like when they were outside of it?

"It's best if we keep our distance when we are surrounded by people who are convinced he killed Nina," Riley answered and Maya stared at her with a judging look. The look was directed at Geb and she could tell.

"It was my idea," she informed and Maya sighed.

She was clearly disappointed. "Riles..."

"You can't possibly think I'm wrong about this?"

"I do. And you wanna know why?"

"Why?" Riley asked. She really wanted to hear Maya's opinion.

"Because it's not the right point in time to be dating him..."

It was silent between them.

Maybe their friendship was meant to drift apart.

"I'm sorry you think that," Riley said. She tried to hold back her tongue, but there was something she needed to say. "It also wasn't the right point in time to not want Shawn to marry your mom..."

Maya was caught off guard. She never expected Riley to say that, especially with that tone to her words and at this moment.

"That's - "

"That's what?" she interrupted her and focused on the books she was in charge of. "Different?"

Was it different?

Here stood Riley wanting to date someone who had just lost their girlfriend, but then there was Maya who was willing to stand in the way of her mom marrying Shawn.

"I guess not."

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

Lucas watched as Harper's reaction sunk in. The picture of both their mom's rested in her hands and the look of confusion was written across her face. It took a few seconds for her to finally let a word out.

"Wow," she said like she was disappointed.

Lucas didn't know what to say or what to do. He just knew that he finally told her everything he knew about their parents.

"She lied to me," Harper told him. "I guess she did have a sister after all."

"What do you mean?" he asked. "Did you know?"

"I've seen your mom before," she informed and he was surprised. "...not - not in person but in a picture. Whenever I would ask my mom about it she would change the subject or dodge the question but...when she started saying that she was a family friend and then a stranger I knew something was wrong."

He played with the mug in his hands as they sat on a table at Poet's. He looked around the cafe and he was grateful there weren't many people around.

"I don't get it," she told him after a few seconds pause. "If you just wanted to prove that we are cousin's or something you could've just sent me a picture or..."

"No," he interrupted her. She hadn't known the rest of the story. "No, you don't understand. There's more to this."

Harper was nervous about his reaction when she said that. He gave her the impression that there was something their moms did back then or something that might've happened that could change her opinion on her mom. "What is there?"

"That girl in the picture is dead," he informed her. "My parents are dead."

Her eyes widened, "Lucas - "

"It was a car crash," he looked her in the eyes when he said this and part of him was surprised that it was easy to do so. When he told Riley he didn't really know what to do. "They were on their way to see your parents."

Harper's mind couldn't grasp the fact that her mom would lie to her for so long. She wasn't really mad, she was just stunned that her mom never spoke about it.

Neither did her dad which made her question if he knew too.

"Something happened between our families," he informed her. "There must've been a reason why my parents would tell me you're dead." His eyes went to hers and as soon as he saw her, he could tell that she felt like she was going to cry.

It was a feeling he was trying to avoid and it was something he knew was hard to overcome.

"Hey," he placed his hand on top of hers. "It's okay."

As soon as he did this gesture, the door swung opened and in walked Riley. She looked around the cafe and sighed in relief after seeing that there weren't many people. That wave soon passed after she saw Lucas.

His eyes went to hers and he let out a faint smile. She smiled back but that changed once her eyes trailed down to the hand he was grabbing.

He removed it in a quick but not lightning quick motion. She still saw what she saw and she didn't like it.

In fact, she hated it even more once he retracted his hand. It only made her sadder.

His movement matched the movement a cheating boyfriend would make as soon as they've been caught. But he wasn't her boyfriend and she had no right to be mad at him.

She did, however, have the right to be mad at him for ignoring her.

Riley walked passed them and not once did she turn to look at him or even stop to say hi to him. She wasn't going to let this get to her.

As soon as she passed by, Lucas was quick to see that something wasn't right with them. He had an idea about what it could have been.

There was a silence between him and Harper and it was still lingering. He decided that he needed to do something different and something that could finally get him the answers he needs. Quickly forming a sentence in his mind, Lucas spoke, "I want to talk to your parents."

 **–**

"I've never done this," Maya said as she stepped out of the car and joined Seth. They stood in a parking lot up in the mountains at ten in the afternoon just so they could overlook the city below. "I never realized how peaceful this town looks from up here, will all the lights, there's hardly any cars..."

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" he asked, his eyes on hers with his smile that sends chills up and down her back.

"Yeah. Yeah, it really is."

"Are you cold?"

"What?" she asked him. "It's like a hundred degrees out here."

He raised his hands up in defense, "Girls get cold easily."

"And guys just feel the need to lend us their coats...?" she questioned him as she crossed her hands.

"Hey, we're gentleman, what can we do about it?"

She laughed and stared at him, but as soon as he stared at her, her eyes went elsewhere.

"What was that?" he laughed.

"What was what?" she asked half a second later.

"Are you afraid to look me in the eye?"

"I'm not afraid of anything."

"Then look at me," he challenged.

She didn't move her head but as soon as he took a step closer to her she looked at him. "There. Are you happy?"

He nodded. "I heard you're starting a newspaper."

"I'm helping," she stated. "Riley's the one who came up with the idea."

He nodded. Everybody who didn't know Riley certainly knew she was brilliant minded and creative. Only some of the traits he wished he had. "So what job did she assign you?"

"I am the co-writer. I'm also doing interviews and I think I might be the photographer as well."

He turned to her as soon as she said that. "Oh. So you're working with Josh?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "I want to say no, but I am joining the yearbook committee for a reason."

"Ah," he nodded but Maya could tell there was something bugging him. She studied him, there was something bugging him that she was sure of.

"Is something wrong?"

"No," he shook his head. "It's stupid, don't worry."

"What if I told you," she began as she turned to him. "...that nothing you say is stupid?"

He smiled and hesitated. As soon as he turned to her, he came clean with the truth. "I don't know how I'll feel about you and Josh being together."

She looked away from him unsure of what to tell him. Her stomach danced with butterflies as soon as he said that.

"And I know, it's not fair to be jealous or anything - "

"It's fine."

His eyes focused on her, "I know you're doing it because you're interested in that stuff." He stared at her before he returned his gaze towards the town below them.

The silence was almost enough for Maya to ask him something she had been wanting him to ask. It was the first thing that came to mind when he parked his car there. She hadn't seen any other car for miles. "Seth, I need you to be honest," Maya told him. She could tell he was confused because of the expression on his face, "How many girls have you brought out here to have sex with them in your car?"

"What?" he adverted himself to face her completely. He was a little hurt that she would ask him that which sort of confused him.

"I know you asked me out on a date because of your friends," she confessed and stopped when he sighed. It was the type of sigh you release when you get caught for doing something you wanted no one to know about. "And it's okay, really. I just need to know."

"Maya..."

"And I got to admit. This," she gestured towards the view next to them and all around them, "This is genius! It's something that's only been done in movies."

He chuckled, "Maya, I don't think you - "

"So I just want to know. That's it and I'll get out of your hairs -"

"Maya," his voice was firm. He placed his hands on her shoulders and licked his lips before smiling. "My friends didn't think I was man enough to ask you out on a date..."

She didn't say anything merely because she didn't understand.

"They've known I liked you even before you started dating my brother and when I finally asked you out, I proved them wrong. I didn't know they bet on it till after."

"Oh," was all she could say. She looked down in embarrassment. The only reason she said yes was that even although he managed to somehow win her over, she still wanted to prove to herself that she could go through with it without feeling anything for him. That Maya Hart, once again, couldn't fall for someone so quickly. And now, now that he said that, she wasn't so sure.

"And this," he followed her gestures from before. "This was the first time I've ever done this. And I'm glad I got to do this with you."

"I," she pressed her hand against her forehead to hide her embarrassment but he quickly removed it.

"And I know," he smiled at her, "I know you don't like me because I ask a lot of girls out. But the one thing that's certain is that I want to be here with _you_."

Maya smiled.

"I know that might not make any sense, I'm not the best when it comes to expressing myself - "

She chuckled, "You're doing great."

As soon as she finished saying that she felt his lips press up against hers. His hands cupped her cheek as he slowly led their kiss back into his car and eventually the back seat.

Maya didn't know how far she was willing to go. He was so careful and gentle she wished it could never stop, but her mom did establish a curfew and she couldn't afford to break it.

She pulled away from him but he didn't let her. And for the first time in a long time, she let someone take her mind off the many things she feared and the many things she had experienced already. He kissed her neck and her collarbones until eventually, he slid off his shirt. Maya traced his features with her hands before he engulfed her in another kiss.

The moment was perfect, the time was perfect, but the day wasn't. She pulled back from the kiss and smiled. "We cant."

"We can," he said. "C'mon we were doing great."

She laughed at the way he said it, "And maybe we can pick this up again some other time. But if you really want to go out on another date, I suggest you take me home before ten-thirty."

He sighed and slid his shirt back on. He wasn't disappointed but he was sad their time was coming to an end. "We're going on another date soon, Hart."

 **–**

The next day in between periods, Matías sat on a chair with his feet on a table in the library and a book in his hands. While flipping through the pages he noticed a figure standing in front of him. He looked up from his book and saw James, an old friend of his. When they were younger their moms would work together which meant that he'd get dropped off at his house in the early morning. That changed when his mom found a new job. "Hey."

"Hey," he said to him. It had been a long time since they've talked.

"What's up?" he asked as he took off his backpack and sat down on the chair in front of him. "I knew I'd find you here."

"You were looking for me?" asked Matías as he sat upright.

"I was," he paused before he began to speak again. "Mrs. Mc'Call told me if I didn't get my grades up by the end of the semester, I wouldn't be able to graduate."

He mentally groaned, wasn't tutoring one student already enough?

Taking note of the look on his face, James tried to defend himself, "I wanted to talk her out of it but I really need this. It's just a couple of weeks, that's all."

He really wanted to say no but he would soon have a lot of time on his hands. He nodded, "Is tomorrow fine?"

"That's perfect. Tomorrow's great," he pressed his hands against each other like a prayer, "Thank you."

Once he left Matías returned to his book, but just before he could read the first word of the new chapter a paper had blocked it out. At the top right corner, he could see a giant B+ circled in a red pen. He quickly turned around to see Anthony with a giant grin.

"You passed," he said hardly believing it. He took the paper from him to get a clearer view.

Anthony sat down in the same seat James sat on. He turned around to see that he was gone, "Hey Matías, who was that? The guy you were talking to?"

"He's the next student I'm tutoring," he informed.

"Does that mean you aren't tutoring me anymore?" he asked as Matías handed him the paper.

He handed back the test to him, "Of course not. Don't be ridiculous. You need help in every subject, he doesn't."

Anthony took back the test from him but something was off with the way he said that. It made him worry.

 **–**

As soon as class was dismissed, Riley and Matías walked out of class together. While they walked he could tell something was off with her, she wasn't talking as much and she would hardly look at him when they talked. When he asked her what was wrong, it was as if everything she had been holding in escaped.

From what she had said, Lucas went on a date with another girl and then pretended they weren't when he saw Riley. She continued to speak only expressing how mad she was at him and how she wishes she could talk to him.

Just then, the entire subject changed and Riley was talking about how people think that she and Lucas have broken up.

They never dated in the first place.

She was told that Lucas was asked the same thing by a couple of guys and he never answered.

Matías couldn't help but think that he had made a mistake. He shouldn't have asked her.

"I mean we talk a lot, but that doesn't necessarily mean we like each other," Riley finished off as they rounded the corner. There was a silence but that didn't last because she continued to speak again. "And why does everyone assume I like him? Why isn't it the other way around? Is it because he's better looking?"

Matías stared at Riley and shook his head no, "You know why. This is a girl thing. They're the ones who spread rumors quicker."

She sighed. He's right. Riley never got along with some of the girls at her school and unfortunately, those girls had a higher status than her. Besides Maya and Isadora, Riley didn't really talk to any other girl. "Can you believe he turned down Melissa?"

"The senior?"

"Yeah," Riley nodded.

They continued to walk for a few seconds before he finally brought up something they could talk about, "I heard _he_ tried to be friends with you again."

She turned to look at him like a deer caught in headlights, "I didn't know what to do?"

"It's fine..." he nodded. He was the understanding friend, he's always been.

"If it makes you feel better, it didn't work." She said in hopes that it would lighten his mood a little.

It did make him feel better to hear that.

"I'm glad you understood," she began and they stopped walking.

He nodded, "I'm over it. And with the whole Lucas thing, just give it time. You don't have all this patience for a reason. Plus, on top of that, you need to help set up the festival tomorrow."

Riley took note of his advice and watched as he walked away. She furrowed her brows because she wasn't sure how affected he was by the news. Some part of her believed he didn't mind it but why wouldn't he mind it? He could've lost his life because of Geb.

 **...**

 **Sophomore Year**

The soft melodies that Acacia's fingers created echoed all over the house. She spent hours rehearsing the exact same piece trying to do her best to get it right. It sounded fine to Matías and to everyone else but to her, it sounded horrible. She always felt like she could do better. And ever since she heard about this prestigious academy that was holding auditions a couple weeks from now, she has been practicing non-stop. She had Adriel drive her there, which by the way was an hour away, just so she could sign up.

The soft stream of music stopped and Matías was grateful it did so. He loved it when she played the piano but he hated it when she didn't let him study.

As soon as she resumed her daily activities, he stood up and walked to the only room that wasn't busy in the house; his dad's office. As soon as he approached the room he could hear voices. Familiar ones.

He placed his ear on the door and listened.

"Do you by any chance happen to know who this "he" is?"

There was a long seconds pause.

This was the recording of the investigation.

"I don't know who he is."

He opened the door pretending he hadn't heard anything but Adriel paused it just in time so we wouldn't hear anymore. "Oh, I'm sorry I didn't know you were in here."

"It's fine."

He nodded but he didn't want to leave just yet. "Is that the recording?"

"Yeah," he said and leaned back on the chair.

"Is something wrong?" he noticed his brothers agitation.

"No," he assured. "I'm just convinced that one of them knows something about her death."

His eyes widened, "What do you mean?"

"Well, look at this," he played all three recordings of Geb, Seth, and Anthony. In the recordings, he asks them the same question and they all hesitate before answering. "Doesn't it seem a little sketchy to you?

He faintly shook his head no but Adriel didn't see it.

"It can't be a coincidence that all three of them brought up this 'him' all of the sudden."

He set his things down.

"They boys made it seem like this 'him' could've been her boyfriend or someone she was interested in and vice versa. I asked Kayla if Nina was seeing someone other than Geb and she doubted it. Since she was Nina's best friend and the only one willing to talk, I took her word for it. The boys are lying."

"What are you saying?" Matías asked as he rounded the desk to get closer to him.

"That they made up this him, just so they could cover up their tracks. I mean the kid Anthony seemed like he felt compelled to tell this story."

He sighed and turned his back on his brother so he could get his stuff and leave the room.

"What?" he asked. "What was that?"

"What was what?"

"That," he gestured to him. "Why'd you do that?"

"What do you mean?"

He stayed silent for a couple seconds before he capped his pen and turned his attention to him, "Do you know something I don't?"

"Don't be ridiculous," he responded.

"You know you make unnecessary gestures with your head when you're lying?" asked Adriel. "It's called a tale. Everybody has one."

"I know you're trained to tell when someone is lying, but this isn't one of them. I'm not lying."

"It's a felony to obtain information from a detective," he informed but was interrupted not long after.

"And what exactly will you do?" Matías questioned. He did know something he didn't and that was that he was helping Anthony lie to him. He was willing to not say anything but as soon as Adriel used his job as a threat, he couldn't bite back his tongue.

"Need I remind you, this can result in a criminal conviction."

"You're threatening me," he added in. "Your own brother."

"I'm warning you," he clarified and stood up. "Matías I want to believe you. This isn't like you, but I will not let this kind of deception interfere with my work. So when I ask you, "do you know something that I don't?". I want you to tell me the truth." He looked him in the eye and waited for him to do the same. "Do you know something that I don't?"

He kept his gaze, his posture to make himself look like he didn't know a thing. The more he did this, the more he realized that he couldn't play this part anymore. He had gotten away with lying so many times when he was younger but that had to change. He was a different person, a more mature person. He had to own up to the truth. "They were telling most of the truth," he confessed and his brother furrowed his brows.

Matías had never seen him so surprised before.

"I'm not even sure if there was a 'him' but I'm sure they just added that in so they can complicate the investigation and so that you will be distracted and not look into them."

"How do you know this?"

He sighed even louder than expected, "Anthony."

Adriel was disappointed in his brother but he didn't show it. He knew from the very beginning that his job could potentially turn against his family. He just didn't know that moment would come so soon.

"When he found out I was related to you, he told me everything. He said he didn't kill her but he doesn't know if his friends did."

Adriel believed his younger brother.

"Please, don't get him in trouble," Matías begged. "Out of the three, he's the honest one, he didn't mean for this to happen."

Adriel nodded and turned his back on his brother before he walked towards the opposite side of the desk. He reached for his phone and handed it to him, "Call him. I want him here. Now."

Matías looked at his brother. He had just told him that he didn't want him to get in trouble. Realizing that he wouldn't be able to change his brother's mind, he pulled out his own phone, "He'll answer if he knows it's me calling."

 **–**

It didn't take long for Matías to drive to Anthony's home and back. On their way there he hardly spoke, he didn't even look at him. He constantly reassured him that everything was okay, but he didn't listen to him. He was too nervous to even pay attention to him.

"Most of the things we said were true," Anthony defended as soon as he entered the room.

"Take a seat," Adriel said before he looked up at him and gestured towards the seat in front of him.

Anthony did as told and when he sat down he confessed everything in one breath. From Geb leaving her there to Seth giving her the alcohol, and to keeping her phone and planting it back in her room. He didn't know if he committed a numerous amount of crimes on doing so but Adriel seemed to take the news well. He didn't seem surprised one bit.

"And when I was in her room," he began as he reached into his jacket. "I found this."

He pulled out what seemed to be a prescription bottle and handed it to Adriel.

"Phentermine?" he questioned. "This is a weight loss pill."

"Nina used to be chubby when she was younger," Matías stated. "It makes sense."

"This doesn't say these pills were prescribed to her. How do we know if these really are phentermine? This could be some drug-related murder."

"No, she wouldn't," Anthony defended. "That's not even the only thing I found."

"What'd you find," Matías asked.

He sighed and gulped before he brought out his phone, "A suicide note."

"What?" he asked.

"I took a picture of it. Here," he handed his phone to Adriel and stared at Matías. He looked worried but also confused.

"Do you think she typed this?"

He didn't know.

"I mean think about it. No one types a suicide note, it's normally written by hand."

He was right.

"What if her killer wrote it," Adriel informed. "I mean her suicide was staged, what if this was too?"

"I'm gonna need to get the actual letter, did you say you found it in her room?"

He nodded, "I found it in one of her drawers hidden underneath her clothes."

"I can have forensics perform a linguistic test. They can confirm if Nina really did write the letter. And if she didn't we will know this was her killers doing."

"How will you get the letter? Don't you need a warrant to check her things?"

"Not in a homicide investigation. I'll go first thing tomorrow morning. You can go home now," he said to Anthony.

When he walked out of the room, Anthony sighed and leaned his head down. He didn't know if he was going to get in trouble later on for it.

"What's wrong?" Matías asked.

"N-nothing. Just take me home."

* * *

 **Writers Note: Looks like Detective Adriel knows somethings because of Anthony. Thank you guys for reading and let me know what you guys think. New story coming soon.**

 **Follow, Favorite and Review**


	11. Chapter 11

**Writers Note: Hi guys I am so sorry I missed last week. I was sick and could barely get out of bed. I hope this chapter makes up for it. You guys are getting close to finding out who killed Nina? Any guesses? Originally this chapter was supposed to contain a portion where Lucas finds out the truth about his parents through Harper's mom, but I decided it would be best if I took that part out. The story will be explained some way, but you guys will need to pay attention to the details. I will mention when details will be revealed in my writers notes. The story is almost going to go on a temporary hiatus and these last chapters will reveal many things. Thank you guys for reading and always let me know what you think.**

 **P.S Don't forget to check out my new story End Game.**

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

Maya walked out of her house and took a couple of steps on the green grass before she got inside Josh's car. Never in her right mind had she thought that he would be her ride to the festival. As she slid in, almost a wave of memories came back to her. She looked over to him and gave him a faint smile before he returned the gesture. For a second they were normal friends. They both tried their best to ignore the elephant in the room, or car, and that was the fact that they dated before. Maya formulated many things to talk about but she could never say any of them. She looked outside the window and saw that the sky was cloudy, summer was going to be over soon and October was about to begin.

She pulled out her camera and started adjusting some of the buttons just to get the pictures the way she wanted them.

As soon as that was done, she set the camera down. Her hand went to the stereo and she began to change the station. Anything for a good song.

When she finally found one, her gaze returned back to the window. The leaves were beginning to change color which only meant fall was right around the corner. That was her favorite holiday because everything was different.

A few minutes past and she was starting to feel awkward. The ride was fairly quiet but to her surprise, it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. She thought that it would be dead silent and that she wouldn't be able to breathe. She was wrong.

While Josh drove, Maya couldn't help but smell the scent he radiated. Nothing had changed. His car smelled exactly the same as well as the family picture he had hanging.

The last time she was in his car, he had driven her to the senior's graduation last school year. Unfortunately, around that time they weren't really on good terms. It was such a shame that the last good memory she had with him in his car was when they went out for lunch during school. Which sucked even more because on the way back she wasn't sure she could trust him.

He parked in the students parking lot and waited for her to get her things ready. "Are you coming?" he asked.

That was the first time any of them talked in a while. Surprised, Maya responded, "Umm...yeah. Just getting my camera."

Once she walked over to him, she was a little happy that he waited for her. With each step they took, she could feel a little happier. When she realized what she was feeling was wrong, especially now that she and Seth were talking, she took a couple of steps away from him. She made sure he didn't realize.

The music grew louder with every step they took. From their homes not a single sound of the song was heard, but as they got closer they could. Riley texted Maya hours before telling her that the festival would surround the school and that there would be even more games than the year before.

She didn't know how to take the news but that meant she would get more pictures for their newspaper.

 **–**

"I'm not laughing," Anthony defended himself after seeing that Matías had just accused him of doing so. As soon as his back faced him, he let out the most silent chuckle he could make. Matías was currently trying the strongman high striker and he wasn't doing so good. He had swung with all the energy he had and the thermometer didn't rise so good.

"That thing's rigged," he said to the person in charge of the game. He didn't want to admit that he wasn't strong.

Anthony let out another laugh after seeing that he had given up. They continued to walk but at the same time, he continued to laugh.

Seeing he had the chance to taunt him for it, Anthony spoke, "Hey, why don't we go to the kid's games?" he pointed to the pathway that could lead them there. "Maybe you'll do good there."

"Very funny," he replied with a disinterested tone to his words. "Why don't we go to the spelling bee booth and see who wins there?"

His smile faded at his comment but he was fine with it because everything offensive they said to each other was only meant as a joke. "I'd blame you," he fired back. "You are my tutor after all."

He nodded knowing he lost that round. He hated losing just as much as he hated admitting he was wrong.

They continued to walk and it was clear to them that the festival was even bigger than the previous years before. There were more booths, more rides, more of everything.

They walked past some of their friends and when they made a turn, they saw Riley standing inside the booth. She was on her phone but as soon as she saw them, she set it down. "Hi, guys."

"Hey," Matías said. "I didn't know you were doing this."

"I wasn't but I'm substituting for Sam," she informed. "Also helps out with the newspaper."

He gave her a smile and examined the booth, "Since you're trapped here do you want anything to eat?"

Riley squealed, "I have been craving a pizza slice and a drink," she informed him.

Matías nodded, "I'll go get it."

Watching them go, Riley's hand found her phone once more. She turned it on and looked at the lock screen, Lucas still hadn't replied to her texts.

She really wanted to know what was going on between them. Had their friendship ended so soon? They hadn't spoken in the longest time.

She didn't like the idea one bit. She wished they could talk in person but he wasn't at the festival. Riley hadn't seen him in so long she worried if he had been staying home all this time.

She really hoped he was all right.

 **...**

 **Sophomore Year**

It's the last day of school and everyone was excited. Everything was different now, from the way the bright sun reflected on the windows and brightened up the school to the way things felt. Everything had changed. No one looked to be talking about Nina's death anymore. That was finally starting to subside. Everything was just different. A very good different.

Walking down the hall and seeing the posters change from _You're Not Alone_ to _Enjoy Your Summer_ was like experiencing one of the greatest changes in the world.

It felt good and it was a feeling Riley wanted to last forever.

She looked at everyone her eyes came across. She searched for that one specific look, the same judging look.

A smile from ear-to-ear marked her lips when she realized no one was returning the stares. She was no longer being stared at and it felt great.

She was no longer the elephant in the room. She was the ant - just like she's always been.

While she continued to walk a specific stare caught her attention. It was Geb's. As soon as he gestured for her to meet him, she did as told.

Soon enough they were kissing inside the janitor's room. Something she's never done before and something she probably never will. His hands were holding onto her waist like he was scared of letting her go. Everything, even the way she was being kissed was very unlike him. She didn't say much but as soon as he tried to lift her shirt, she stopped him.

"What are you doing?" she asked him and stepped away.

He didn't say anything he just ran a hand through his hair. He seemed frustrated and angry, not at her rather himself. He blamed it on the lack of sleep but something else had to be the reason.

"Are you okay?" she asked him.

He grabbed the object near him and started fidgeting with it. She waited for his response and for a moment realized she wasn't going to get one. That changed when he looked at her in the eyes.

"I..." was all he could muster before his voice broke. "My dad and I got into an argument yesterday and I walked out of the house. I haven't gone home since."

She never met his dad and he rarely talked about him. Maybe it was because they didn't exactly have the best relationship. Riley hugged him and she rested her chin on the crook of his neck. "You should talk to him."

He pulled back from the hug slightly and shook his head no. "I'm still mad at him."

"Where are you gonna go?" she felt the need to ask him. There was a silence which only made her realize he didn't know. If he was mad at his dad and left the house, he certainly wasn't going to return.

"I'll go to the cabin," he answered.

"The cabin?"

He walked closer to her, "Come with me?"

She let out a nervous sigh. A very low sigh. She wasn't sure about it because she had never spent the night with him. Were they that close?

"Let's go somewhere," Geb suggested and just then a light bulb went off inside him. The hints of hope made Riley happy, "Let's get out of town or do something together. We can go anywhere I mean it's the last day of school."

"I can't," she said and his expression fell.

"Why not?"

"Because we're in school," she answered him.

"It's the last day - " he argued but she didn't change her mind.

"Which is why I can't go," she said it in a way that made him still. He knew he wouldn't be able to convince her now that her tone had changed.

His grasp loosened on her and his jaw clenched. "This feels like a breakup."

"What?" she asked him. She was completely surprised with the impression she gave him. She never meant for it to sound like that in any way. "Geb, that's not what - "

"Then come with me," he interrupted her. He grabbed her hands. "Riley, I'm at my best when I'm with you. I want to be with you, but how would we do that if you won't be _with_ me?"

Her eyes didn't meet his. She had to admit it sounded exciting, but she didn't know if she could find it in herself to go.

"Just one night," he persuaded. "I just need to be with you one night." His forehead pressed against hers for further convincing. Still there was something that felt like she would say no, so he added, "Then I'll talk to my dad."

She nodded as soon as he said those words. She really liked him and she knew he liked her too. If it meant he would talk to his dad then she would do it. "We'll leave after the graduation ceremony."

He nodded in excitement and kissed her. "I'll pick you up at your house."

 **–**

"Babe," Josh called out to an uninterested Maya. He didn't know what had gotten into her and caused her to be ignoring everything he had said. "Are you mad at me?"

She wasn't mad at him one bit she just felt like she couldn't trust him. She gave him a faint smile, one that didn't reach her eyes. "That's nonsense."

He sighed knowing everything was all right but to Maya, it looked like relief. Like she hadn't known something he was trying to hide.

"There's a party after the graduation," he informed. "What time should I pick you up?"

Maya shook her head no, "I don't know, Josh."

"Why not?" he asked her, "C'mon, it's going to be your first high school party. It'll be fun."

She had to admit, she always wanted to do something like that. Then again, she always wanted to do something like that when she was dating someone she was happy with.

"I'm sorry Josh, but the answer is no," her voice was firm and she didn't leave him any room for hope.

Josh, knowing Maya all too well, raised his hands in defense and stepped back from her. He always found it hard to convince her to do something she didn't want to do.

"On the brighter side," Maya began as soon as Josh started to walk away, "You can take Missy."

He stopped in his tracks and turned around to face her with furrowed brows. Before their eyes meet, she had already rounded the corner.

 **–**

Kayla and Aaron spoke just outside the classroom and Anthony watched.

He feared that she would tell him the truth about what they know or about what they have done. He felt that at some point she would get attached and do so. He tried to hide from her glances and to make sure he wouldn't get caught staring at them. As soon as he hid behind a pillar, his gaze found Matías staring at him from a distance.

Even though they were a few feet away, he could see his judging expression. He cursed under his breath and approached him.

"You're a weirdo, you know that?" he taunted and continued to walk but Anthony followed after him. "Why are you staring at her anyways?"

"I was..." he stopped because he figured it would be best to keep secret about what he was doing. "I was being weird."

Matías chuckled. They reached the building in a matter of steps and when they did he noticed that the day had gone about just the same as any regular day. He had expected that the last day of school would be different. Apparently, he was wrong. They walked up the stairs and when they reached the second floor, Anthony finally brought up a conversation.

"Do you need a ride to the ceremony?" he asked to which Matías shook his head no.

"I'll be walking."

Ever since Anthony had told his brother the truth about his last day with Nina, Adriel hadn't been home. He hadn't even answered any of his calls. He wasn't worried exactly but there was something he didn't find right.

Had Adriel found something that could solve the case?

Matías could only hope.

Anthony didn't think much of it, he just nodded.

 **–**

The festival had continued throughout the day and Riley, Matías, Maya, and Anthony were all under the same booth. They were having fun while they also brought each other down.

"You suck," Riley laughed as she sat on the edge of the booth eating her pizza that Matías had gotten for her.

"Go home!" he taunted his friend Maya.

The blonde ignored her friend's remarks and aimed the basketball at the hoop. She never really liked this game, but she only played because her friend needed something to laugh at. Maya didn't do good and this brought Riley the laughter she wanted. It also didn't help that the game was timing her. In the past two minutes, she had only managed to score three times.

"I give up," she finally said aloud. When she turned to look at her friends they were already exhausted from laughing too much.

"What?" Riley questioned. "You can't just quit in the middle of the game."

"Apparently I can and I just did."

"Lame," Matías taunted even further and Riley laughed. Maya knew they were taunting her in a playful manner, but she already knew how she would get her revenge.

Anthony picked up the basketball and looked back at him. Seeing Matías would taunt him even more than he did Maya, he did this on purpose. "I bet I can win you the panda."

He shook his head, "In the time remaining?"

He looked at the time and nodded, "Yes."

"The panda is fifty points and you only got a minute left," Matías argued. There was no way he would make it. "You're on."

Riley watched back and forth and ignored their banter. She cheered as soon as Anthony started scoring, "This pizza is really good by the way."

"Aaron made it," Matías informed. "He's getting paid to do so."

Riley rolled her eyes, "He has a job that's why."

Maya took out her camera and took a few pictures of Anthony. She figured she could use this time to do something for the newspaper, she had already brainstormed a couple of ideas she would like Riley to hear.

Riley noticed what Maya was doing and smiled, "How many have you taken?"

"A lot of good ones," she answered the brunette. "After Josh left with Missy I stayed behind and took some pictures of the children."

"This newspaper of yours was actually a great idea," Matías informed and Riley smiled. "I'm a little disappointed I wasn't asked to join."

"I'm sorry but didn't you just become an administrator for the honor board?" Riley asked. "Student council is working in your favor."

"Not exactly," he informed. "You'd think the people who landed a seat would be the ones that keep themselves away from fights and arguments, turns out they're the ones causing them."

Riley didn't understand what he was getting at but she felt like she had an idea. Their school wasn't the best, healthy place where everyone was accepted for who they were. And the students who ran the school weren't exactly the ones who made it a positive place.

Anthony furrowed his brows as he listened to what Matías was talking about. He was curious to find out.

The time was coming to a close and he remained scoring. Just as soon as it ended he had already made the last point.

Riley and Maya cheered and Matías scoffed, very loudly.

"Here's the panda," Riley handed it to Anthony. He held it in his arms before he approached Matías.

Maya watched as he did so. Anthony was cute when he acted confident.

"I believe this is for you," he told him and Matías held out his arms.

As soon as the panda was in his hands he wafted the thing to the counter aside him. "I'll come back for it after the festival ends."

He smiled and checked his phone because he got a notification, "Oh, we should get going. The haunted house just opened."

"Oh, right. We'll come by later."

Riley and Maya waved them bye before they fell into a short silence.

Anthony made his way towards the haunted house which wasn't too far from Riley's booth, "You know the only reason I made those shots were because I calculated the velocity."

He laughed, "Maybe that's why you don't need a tutor."

Anthony's laugh fell short. He stopped walking and stared at him, "What does that mean?"

Matías closed his eyes and sighed because it had slipped out, he didn't mean to tell him like this. "I'm not your tutor anymore, Anthony. You don't need one."

 **–**

"And when I went to Poet's," Riley began. She was currently telling Maya about her situation with Lucas and why he hadn't been talking to her. "He was holding her hand. When he looked at me, he looked like I had caught him in the middle of something. Was I wrong, Maya?"

Maya wasn't aware of what she was being asked.

"Was I wrong to tell him about Geb?"

Maya hopped off the counter from the opposite side of the booth and approached her best friend. "Riley you did nothing wrong."

"I just...I don't want to believe this is the guy he is. It's like he was aware of what we had, yet he went and started something with someone else."

This was the first time Riley expressed this. She knew she didn't have all the pieces of the story but from what she knew, she refused to believe. Could Lucas really be that type of guy?

Maya didn't know Lucas. Not one bit and she was a little surprised by what Riley was telling her.

She was there for her friend but at the same time, she didn't know what to say. She was familiar with feeling like the guy she liked was hiding something from her, but that's all there was too it.

"You know something," Riley said as she sniffled and got off the counter. "I don't want to be worrying about this. It's the Gate's Festival. My shift will be ending soon and I don't want to spend all night feeling like I'm not important."

"That's the Riley I want to hear," Maya encouraged. "When this is over we are going to have fun."

She felt her phone vibrate from her back pocket and when she pulled it out she saw a text message.

 **Unknown:**

 **231 Main St**

Her eyes widened. It's was the eerie text again and this time it was telling her to go somewhere. She told Riley she'd be back when her shift ended and when she exited the booth she continued her walk towards the address.

* * *

 **Writers Note: Feel free to let me know what you guys think. I would love to hear your guy's opinion. You are SO close to finding out who killed Nina. But I'm curious about who you guys think it is. Let me know.**


	12. Chapter 12 Pt 1

**Writers Note: YOU GUYS ARE SO EXTREMELY CLOSE TO FINDING OUT WHO KILLED NINA! I haven't chosen exactly how long this story will go on a hiatus but maybe it will be enough for me to finish up the story - or most of it. I don't think you guys know how ahead I am in these chapters than you guys are. I think I'm probably like at least three months ahead. Right now I think - I THINK - I am on the eighteenth chapter. End Game is also just starting off too so if you guys haven't checked it out I suggest you guys do so.**

 **End Game is updated every Wednesdays.**

 **A Bullet in Time is updated every Thursdays.**

 **Before you guys read I also wanted to let you guys know that I respect your guy's ships. You can ship whoever you want in GMW and that wouldn't stop me from reading your stories, I don't understand why some people would stop reading but that doesn't change my opinion of you whatsoever. Understand that this is MY story and what I think, I like Joshaya but I don't ship it. I have something envisioned for them and Maya and Josh will have a friendship in the next part and they will question if they truly stopped having feelings for each other. That's a major hint!**

 **I just thought I needed to add that.**

 **Sometimes in the writing I like to add song lyrics just to set the mood. The song used in this chapter is called Add it Up by Shawn Mendes. It's a cover he made and I really liked it. At the time I wrote the chapter I was obsessed with the song.**

 **ENJOY!**

 **...**

 **Sophomore Year**

"That was your dad," Matías grandmother told him. She sat next to him on the dining table and set the phone down. She had talked to his parents for ten minutes and when they shared their goodbye's, she had good news to tell him. "They'll be back next week."

"That's good news," he said to his grandma but he didn't really mean it. He sauntered towards the refrigerator in the kitchen which was in the other room and when he returned she was still sitting down. "I should be leaving. The ceremony starts in ten minutes."

"Okay, mijo."

"Your medication is on the counter," he informed and pointed to it. "Don't forget to take it."

"I won't," she told him and felt his warm kiss on her forehead. "Have fun and don't come home late."

He told her he'd be back on time just like he's always been and walked towards the living room where his younger sister sat. She was about to place her fingers on the piano keys but stopped, "Any recommendations?"

"Can't," he informed and opened the front door. "I need to get going."

"Really? Where?" she asked.

"Graduation ceremony," he replied. He had a couple of friends that he wanted to see on the stage. "I thought you left a couple minutes ago," he informed. She had announced it earlier, but he figured she never left.

"Kaden's running late but he said he was on his way."

"Be safe," he told her. Kaden was a good looking young boy who had liked Acacia since they were young. Matías had only met him once and there was nothing to hate about him.

"Always am," she replied and her phone vibrated. A smile framed her lips and she began typing on her phone.

He grabbed his coat and ignored her smile before he walked out of the room.

 **–**

"Welcome parents, family, and friends. Thank you for joining us on this very special day. Today students who have shown how smart they are, how their intelligence will open doors for the career they desire, and how they've excelled in school will be celebrated today..." Mr. Hyde spoke to the people and students in front of him.

Matías entered the football field in the middle of his introduction speech. His eyes examined the green field that was now filled with an abundant amount of people, there was a row that was decorated with red and gold balloons that corresponded with their school colors. The graduating students sat just in front and their parents and families sat on the chairs a few yards away. He started to walk again, but his walk fell short when his phone vibrated. He reached into his pocket and pulled it out, it was a text message from Anthony:

 **Anthony Jimenez (1):**

 **I'm sitting in the student section. Where are you?**

He replied telling him that he was had just arrived and when he continued to walk, his phone vibrated again. This time it wasn't Anthony, it was an unknown person.

The message had an attachment to it and when his eyes landed on the picture, they widened. A doll with blonde hair and a pink dress hung from a metal pipe on the ceiling. He looked at the picture and then questioned why someone would send him this.

The picture had horrible quality and seemed like it was taken in a rush, but it was enough for Matías to know where it was taken from.

The school's basement.

He searched around the bleachers where Anthony told him he sat and when he spotted him, he smiled. He was interested in what the graduating student was saying and he would clap when everyone else would.

He turned his gaze from him to the school and giving a loud but soothing sigh, he walked towards it. When he made it past the parking lot and reached the main door, he breathed. Anxiety rose within him and he tried his best to conceal it. Going down there alone was a risk and he didn't know if he would find something he didn't want to find in the first place.

He opened the main door with a pull and walked down the empty hall alone. It was so quiet you could hear his breathing and his footsteps. He reached the basement door in two minutes and took in its appearance. The door was old and rusty and he had never bothered to touch it, but this time he would have to.

"What the hell are you doing here?" came Kayla's voice which startled him. He never thought the day would come when he would enjoy the sassiness her voice always seemed to project.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, the relief clearly evident in his face.

Kayla faced her phone in his direction and while his eyes adjusted to the camera, he heard her sigh. The same picture that was sent to him was also sent to her.

"When did you get this?"

"Ten minutes ago," she responded. "I realized it was taken in the basement and when I came here the door was locked..."

"I see that," he said as he pulled on the handle once more. The door didn't open and there wasn't any other entrance. "How do we get in?"

Kayla handed him the flashlight that was in her hands and then reached into her own pocket. She pulled out a pair of rusty keys and dangled them in front of him, "Don't ask me how I know."

Matías didn't want to know. He was anxious to see what was down there because he was certain the picture came from Nina's killer. Kayla inserted the keys on the keyhole and he pulled the door back. A set of stairs stood before them as a cold gust of wind blew on them and gave him goosebumps.

He looked at Kayla and saw that she had no intentions of going in first.

"Let's just hope we don't get killed," he said hoping it would lighten the fear inside them.

 **–**

Riley looked around the bleachers for the tenth time and found no sign of Geb. She returned her gaze to her phone and scrolled through the previous messages she had sent him. He hadn't replied to her and she was worried.

She was brought back to the time they spent in the janitors closet and when he had kissed her. He told her that he wasn't going home and that he'd like it if they went somewhere together. Riley, being her usual self, wasn't sure at first and it took some convincing, but she had agreed. She figured that was enough for him and that he should be sitting right next to her but he wasn't.

She didn't even know where he was at the moment, she just hoped she was okay.

Riley texted him again asking him the same thing:

Are you okay?

She bit her nails and stared tentatively at her phone which annoyed Maya.

"You're doing it again," she informed her and Riley apologized. "Is something wrong?"

Riley sighed, "I don't know where he's at."

It didn't take Maya long to realize she was talking about Geb, "He's probably fine, Riles. He knows how to take care of himself."

"Yeah, I know that but this is different. His own dad doesn't even know where he's at." Her gaze went to Anthony who was sitting two rows below her with his group of friends. When he turned around to look at her, she mouthed the words "Where's Geb?" and he replied by shrugging his shoulders.

He didn't know either.

She was scared that he might've left and gone somewhere far or he didn't get far because he crashed.

She was thinking the worst.

Riley watched as her screen turned off and she held it close. Her attention went to the ceremony, but something told her that something was going to happen.

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

"Here she is," Riley turned around as soon as she heard the familiar voice. When her eyes landed on the person, she sighed. It was Geb. He was smiling from ear to ear and when she sauntered over towards him, his smiled flattened. "Are you okay?"

"I was," she let that hang for a second, "...up until you got here," her tone showed no sign of interest whatsoever.

"Ouch."

"What do you want?" she questioned. Riley figured it was the perfect time to finally find out why he didn't like Lucas and why he still wanted to be with her. She saw the hint of retraction and then he finally spoke.

"Because..." he said and struggled to continue. His eyes met hers and he took a deep breath, "I messed up, okay a-and I ruined the most important thing to me. I still believe we can be together."

She chuckled at his words and brought her water bottle closer to her.

He wished it didn't hurt him to see her laugh at him, but it did. He stepped back and stared down at the ground. "I mean it," he added.

"Why?" she asked with a soft tone. "You know you messed up. You know this is all your fault. What makes you think I could forgive you?"

He didn't know what to say. He knew he messed up and he didn't really know how she would forgive him. He just knew he wanted her too. "I know you, Riley. That's why."

That wasn't enough for her.

For a moment there was a silence and when he saw that Riley wanted this to end, he continued to speak, "C'mon," his words hung for a few seconds. "There hasn't been at least any moment we shared that you miss?"

"You want to know why I can't forgive you?" she questioned, her eyes glistening. Geb gulped when he noticed. "You knew Nina's killer and never did you once bother to tell anyone, especially, especially," she added the word for emphasis. "...When you knew my friends were targets."

"I was threatened, Riley. That's - that's different."

"Is it?" she asked. "'Cause what did you have to lose? You told me you had nothing left - "

"I had you," he interrupted her, his voice just as low as Riley's was before. "That - that was enough."

She blinked but then looked away. "I don't think I could ever forgive you until you apologize to him...that's just how it's going to be."

Riley left the argument at that. She ignored what else he said partially because she never heard him and turned her back on him. She waited a couple seconds and when she turned around he was gone.

She let out a breath of relief and sighed.

Until he apologized to him, could she forgive him.

 **–**

Maya stopped just by the wooden fence and examined the house. It was dark and dirty. There was a mattress leaning by the door and bags of trash that were never thrown away. She brought out her phone and looked at the address.

She was in the right place.

She took in a deep breath and approached the house. Each step she took was harder and harder, as if there were rocks hanging from her. Maya reached the porch and looked both ways before she sighed. She could feel her heartbeats in her ears and they were loud which didn't help. No one was around and it was so quiet, she hadn't seen anyone in the past ten minutes it took for her to get here. She could be killed and no one would see, no one would know just who did it.

Her hand stretched for the rusty knob and the door creaked open. She pushed it slightly and the creasing grew louder. Once the door was fully opened, Maya got a clear enough view of the house.

The interior was mostly wooden and dusty. There were white pieces of cloths draped over the furniture and some recently lit candles to light the way. Maya looked to her left and saw nothing but darkness. She looked straight ahead and saw a white refrigerator and to her right were stairs and a little further back was another room, she dare not go into.

 _Day after day_  
 _I will walk and I will play_  
 _But the day after today_  
 _I will stop and I will start_

She decided to go up the stairs since the candles lighted the way. When her foot stepped on the steps, a creak radiated all over the house. She cringed because it was loud but as soon as she heard footsteps in the room above her's, her eyes widened.

The footsteps grew. As if they were going back to the top of the stairs.

Maya didn't know what to do, she couldn't move nor could she form a single thought.

 _I've given you a decision to make_  
 _Things to loose and things to take_  
 _Just as she's about ready to cut it up_  
 _She says "Wait a minute, honey, I'ma add it up."_  
 _Add it up ! Add it up!_  
 _"Wait a minute honey, I'ma add it up."_

When her eyes looked up, she saw someone standing above her. Her eyes widened and her grands tightened their grip on the railing, next to the candles. She stated at the figure for at least a good second but she couldn't see their face because it was dark.

Once the figure descended and the creaks increased, Maya noticed that it was a girl.

"Maya."

She didn't realize it was someone she knew. "Missy?" the words hung from her mouth. She was relieved she wasn't alone but also confused as to why she was there. "What are you doing here?"

"I got _his_ text," she said and gave her a hug. Maya's breathing relaxed and she was a little less scared now. "Did you?"

She nodded, but was more anxious to know who she was talking about. "Who's he? You know who it is?"

"I only know it's a guy," Missy answered. "He's been making me do so many things. I don't know what he wants me to do now."

 _Day after day_  
 _I get angry, and I will stay_  
 _That the day...is in side_  
 _When I take a bow and say goodbye._

Maya caught glimpse of the tears in her eyes, but it wasn't the fear she caught onto. It was the feeling of relief.

They weren't in this alone.

Her gaze focused on the path behind Missy. It was lit with candles as well. The path seemed to lead to the outside.

 _Oh, ma-mama, mama-mo-ma-mum_  
 _Take a look now at what your boy has done_  
 _He's walking around like he's number one_  
 _Went downtown and you got him a gun_

 _So don't you shoot that thing at me,_  
 _Don't you shoot that thing at me._  
 _I know that you got my sympathy,_  
 _But don't you shoot that thing at me._

The outside of the house was safer than the inside, but it was also messier. The grass wasn't outgrown, but a certain area was covered in mushrooms while the opposite side had flowers. She kneeled down to get a better look but was still confused. How could one side be covered in mushrooms but the other side be covered in flowers? She turned around to see Missy, but her expression sent chills up and down her back.

Missy was frozen, she was scared and in tears.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "Missy?"

She shook her head no and took a step back. Maya had never experienced so much fear all at once. "A girl around our age went missing a while back," she began and she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Maya, she was never found."

 _That the day...is in my side_  
 _When I take a bow, and say goodnight_  
 _Add it up, add it up,_  
 _"Wait a minute, honey, I'ma add it up"_

She was confused. She didn't know why this information had anything to do with any of this. She looked at Missy clearly confused, it wasn't until she pointed to the patch of mushrooms and that she began to understand what she had been trying to say all this time. "Oh my God," she sighed and her own eyes began to glisten. She took a few steps back. "Oh my God. Is she - ?"

"...She's under there."

The words hung in the air for a few seconds, but to them it seemed like an eternity.

"He buried her here."

* * *

 **Writers Note: Thank you guys so much for reading. I was inspired by Pretty Little Liars for the Maya and Missy pieces. They were receiving texts and these letters by someone for some reason. This will continue on the second half of the series as well but will end soon after. Thank you guys so much for reading and I can't believe how EXTREMELY close you guys are. I wrote this months ago and now that the time has come I am super excited.**

 **Next chapter reveals ALL. Let me know what you think.**


	13. Chapter 13 Part 2

**Writers Note: I have been waiting for this moment for more than seven months now. It's so shocking to me that in April of 2017 I came up with this idea. I was so HEAVILY inspired by 13 Reason's Why and the message it conveyed - it's so important to be kind. To kill someone's cruel ego with kindness and to always be known for that. Fast forward to November when I wrote this chapter and then to February when you guys are reading this. Nina's killer will be revealed and today and I am looking forward to read your responses. After this, A Bullet in Time will go on a break and return for one chapter to explain how Nina died. It will be an all about Nina chapter with 2,000 + words so not very long. This hiatus will be around a month long. Part B to the series is more about high school and there's A LOT of drama. Also, I'm curious. Who do you think brought the gun to school? Hmmm...so many questions that I know the answers to but can't tell you.**

 **Thank you so much and enjoy...**

 **...**

 **Sophomore Year**

When Kayla was younger and liked to play hide and seek, she would hide under her stairs in a small closet inside of her house. Her friends couldn't be able to find her and after a while of hiding, she thought it would be best to come out and rub it in their faces. Her little hands reached for the doorknob but as soon as she twisted it, the door remained closed. She tried again and the door wouldn't open.

When she realized she was trapped inside that little room, she panicked and started crying.

Her brother heard her and opened the door for her, but ever since then, she has never liked being in confined spaces. She wasn't a fan of stairs either. Her now larger hands held onto Matías' shoulder merely because she was afraid.

"I've only been down here once," he informed mainly because he wanted to start a conversation. The silence between them only grew fear in the both of them. "It was for student council and they had supplies down here for the next rally which doesn't fall for another couple of months, but - "

"Matías?" Kayla asked cutting him off. When he turned around and looked at her, he noticed the fear in her voice. She was scared. "Do you think you could've solved the case on your own? Just you and Anthony?"

He looked away and continued to walk, "I don't know. There was nowhere to start...but a part of me always thought about it." He didn't know why she was asking but something in her words hinted that she wanted something to hope for. She had lost her friend and he could only imagine her loss. "I would've figured it out eventually."

"Here," she said and pointed to the door on the left side of the hall. Matías looked at it but then looked back to her. He didn't think this was the place - but he didn't know which room they could be searching for.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Why wouldn't I?" she asked, confused. "C'mon, let's go."

Matías followed after and they walked further down the hallway. The basement was more creepy than it normally was. He had goosebumps running up and down his spine and he didn't like it.

"Anthony's cute," she said out of the bloom. "You're really lucky."

Matías stopped in his place and aimed the flashlight back at her. He let out a light chuckle and raised a brow, "What do you mean I'm lucky?"

"Oh," she said as if she had offended him, " _He's_ the lucky one."

"I don't understand," he spoke. He waved a large spiderweb out of the way and stared at her with furrowed brows. "How are we lucky?"

"I thought..." she stared at him blankly, but then sighed and silently cursed. "I thought you guys were dating."

The news took him by surprise, but then he started to laugh. Sure, they had spent a lot of time together but that was because they were trying to solve Nina's case. He didn't know other people would start to form their own opinions.

"If you guys are, you can tell me," she said following Matías, who continued to walk. "I mean you guys care for each other - "

"We aren't - " he stopped talking and looked ahead of him. "We're here."

Kayla muttered a 'what' but then she stopped when she saw what he had been staring at him.

Matías walked closer towards the doll and examined it. It was hanging from the pipe above and its eyes had dark X's drawn on them. He noticed a note laying just below it and when he reached for it, he heard subtle movements from behind him. He didn't bother to turn around because he had already opened the piece of paper.

 **Got You**

He furrowed his brows.

Before he could turn around, he felt something massive hit his head. He didn't have time to react because everything went dark.

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

Missy never thought there could be so much chaos happening all at once. She never thought that she would be involved in something so tragic as she waited here, sitting in the back of an ambulance, wrapped in a blanket resting next to Maya while they watched it all crumble. She was frozen in her place, aware that she was safe but still, she feared something horrible would come out of this and harm her.

Maya looked down from the night sky and stared at Missy, she could see that she was torn to pieces from what had just happened. Her light brown eyes stayed in one place while small trails of tears fell from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Maya's hand went to her's for reassurance and she retracted her hand when it startled her.

She looked at her for a split second before they reverted back to where she previously stared at, "How are you so calm about this?"

"I'm not," she revealed. "I'm terrified. I don't know how my parents will feel about this."

"Do you think we found her?" the question hung there for a few seconds.

"Why did you think that's connected?" Maya inquired.

"He told me," Missy answered.

"How do you know though," she asked a little impatient. She was having mixed feelings about Missy calling this person 'him'.

"He told me," she said again, this time she was impatient. "How else would I know?"

"What do you mean he told you? Did you talk to him - ?"

Maya didn't have a chance to finish. By the time she even came close to, she heard Riley calling out to her. Maya turned to look in her direction, nothing made her feel safer at the moment. Her eyes looked at Riley's brown ones and she smiled. Just behind the brunette approached two other figures, standing next to her were Josh and Seth. Missy was the first to get up and run towards her friends while Maya waited. Riley rushed to her and once they were together they hugged.

"Are you okay?" she asked and placed her hands on Maya's warm cheeks. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to get hurt," she informed her best friend.

They hugged once more but when she let go, Seth was standing right next to her.

This time she started to cry and when he hugged her she rested her head on the crook of his neck.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there," he whispered into her ear.

When they released from each other, Maya noticed Josh. She didn't know if they were going to hug or not but the moment alone was enough for her to know that he was glad she was okay. He gave her a slight nod and she nodded back.

She was fine and he was glad to see that.

Riley wiped the tears from her eyes and looked everywhere around her. Now that it was night, the police lights were brighter than ever. Policemen walked in every direction while others searched around the house with flashlights. Riley remembered the time she was in a position like this.

She was waiting just outside the school, scared and her phone in her hands. Police were everywhere just like they were now. The only difference was that this time she was certain her friends were safe, the other time she didn't know. All she'd heard was that someone was hurt.

She heard a car park just from the distance and when the headlights turned off, she saw that Adriel was walking towards her.

Riley approached him, "What happened?"

He stopped in front of her, "Haven't you heard?" he brought that sense of charisma that made something serious less significant - just like Matías. "Your friends might've found a dead body."

She stood there in silence and Adriel knew she was scared for her friends.

"Look, I'm here now. I'm gonna solve this."

He saw her nod and he continued to walk towards the house. When he reached the backyard he saw an abundant of bones displayed on a table. They were laid out in the place they were supposed to go. Just then a man approached him and shook his hand.

"We're looking at a teenager," he began. "Around the age of sixteen or seventeen. Female. She's been out here for 20 years no more than 25. We'll be able to more after analysis."

Adriel nodded. "Nothing on the cause of death?"

"Not yet," the forensic spoke. "We did, however, find this."

Adriel's eyes followed his finger, he noticed something silver and it took him a while to figure out what it was, "A keychain?" he asked.

 **...**

 **Sophomore Year**

Matías' eyes slowly opened and closed. Whatever hit him had knocked him out and the pain in his head only let him know that he was hit hard. When his eyes opened, it took time for them to adjust to what he was seeing. He leaned back on the wall behind him and then grimaced when his head came to contact with the hard wall. He struggled to lift his hand because his hands were wrapped with tape. He moved himself a little and leaned his head back. It took him a while but he finally managed to gather enough strength so that he could touch the wound on the back of his head. He almost yelled because of the pain it had caused.

His hands came down and that's when he spotted it. The puddle of blood on the ground just beside him, where he previously laid.

He felt trickles of blood trail off his hand and land on his pants. It was definitely his blood.

It didn't take long for him to realize what had happened and why he was like this.

He found enough strength to yell out for help but it wouldn't last. He was too weak and he had lost too much blood.

His gaze searched the room he was in, the doll that he had looked at before was no longer there. It had been removed which meant he wasn't alone.

He cried out for help, but then he stopped. Chills ran through his back because he noticed something, "Kayla?" he muttered. She was gone.

"Please..."

"Don't waste your energy," a voice spoke and then everything went silent. So silent he could feel his own heart beating. "You're gonna need it." When he heard the ominous voice, he instantly sighed. He knew who it was. He began to panic and search for a way out, but there wasn't.

"I should've known it was you," the fear that rushed through him when he realized there was nowhere to go was something he had never felt before. The thought of being trapped in a room with a killer terrified him. He lightly rested the back of his head on the wall, "Are you gonna let me see you or are you gonna stay hidden?"

"You think you're really funny, don't you?" the voice spoke and the footsteps grew. The anger clear in their voice.

Matías prepared himself to see Nina's killer. As soon as the footsteps grew and they were close enough so he could see her, he gulped and spoke. "You know killer doesn't really look bad on you, Kayla."

She smirked, "You just couldn't give it a rest..."

Her eyes looked at him and he didn't look so good. There was blood running from the side of his ear and down to his neck.

"You told me not to ask you how you got the keys," he began. "But now I'm curious..."

She walked around the room, circling the shelves and observing everything that was inside the boxes, "I did it the same way I hung Nina from that stage...I had help."

That would explain why there were two different shoe prints in the dirt when Nina died. He watched as she looked around the room, her hair was in a ponytail and she had gloves on her hands. "Who's the second person?" he asked.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," she used her finger to say no. "Too bad you won't live know."

"You're gonna kill me?" he asked with fear in his voice. "Here?"

"I didn't plan to, I never did. But you, you just had to play hero and try to solve this pathetic murder case. This isn't some puzzle you can just piece together," she found a couple of napkins in one of the boxes and stared at him. "You made it difficult for me to watch you get information from your brother. So I figured if I take you out, then your brother will be released from this case and who know's the rest from there. But all I know is that I walk out of these untouched."

He could feel his wound heat up. He could hardly keep his eyes open.

"I mean too bad for Anthony, right?" she said in hopes to add some light to this, it didn't work. "You spent all this time with him yet it wasn't enough time for you to know the real him. How pathetic," she scoffed. "I know he will be devastated when he hears about this. He'll learn his lesson the hard way. Oh well, I did warn him...had my accomplice - love that word - break into his house but that wasn't enough to scare him."

"This little thought in your head that makes you think we're dating can rest," he said. "Your OTP will never be endgame."

She chuckled and knelt down in front of him, "I guess not, but you can't blame a girl for hoping now can you?"

She placed the napkin on the dried blood and helped clean it out. When she saw him wince, she tightened her grip on the napkin and gently wiped off the blood.

He was both scared and surprised by this. He looked at her for a split second and then looked away, "Why'd you kill Nina?"

She froze for a second but then continued to clean the blood from his head.

"That seems to be the million dollar question, doesn't it?" She stood up and returned the napkins to the proper box. "Nina had something of mine. I simply wanted it back and the only way to do was," she imitated a knife slitting her own throat.

"What did she have?"

"You're smart, you'll figure it out," she said.

"That's gonna be a little difficult. Nina had everything," he explained and Kayla smiled. "And I'm not that smart so why don't you just tell me?"

"That will ruin the fun."

"This is not fun," he was angry but the fear was too clear in his voice.

She smiled and kneeled down so they were eye to eye, "There's a graduation happening right now. There are people celebrating the start of a new chapter in their lives while you're here celebrating the end of it. Although, it's not much of a celebration since - "

"She was your friend - " Matías tried to knock some sense into her. He was hoping that some guilt would help change her mind but it didn't. It made her angry. "She was your friend and you murdered her in a brutal way."

"My friend?" she questioned. "Nina was no friend to me. Ever since we were little she always wanted to be the best at everything, she wanted everything and she took it from me or anyone else. And I wouldn't be defending her either. She hated Riley."

"I don't care. She didn't deserve to die. Just because Nina liked the same guy as Riley did doesn't matter."

"IT DOES MATTER!" she yelled. "Because while she tormented Riley for liking the guys she did, she was being a stupid hypocrite and doing the same thing to me! She deserved to die!"

Matías gulped and stared at her. He had never seen her this angry. He had started to see the anger inside her and it scared to know she was capable of killing someone. The silence she had created lingered, it brought him back to when she was standing in front of Aaron. When he was speaking about Nina. Kayla did her best to make him feel okay. She walked him out and when he was about to leave, they hugged.

It made him think that Aaron was her accomplice, but Aaron's grief was genuine. He couldn't fake that and he did think he would've fallen for it if it wasn't real.

"That's why you did it," the words left him before he even realized it. It all made sense to him now. "Aaron. He's the reason you killed her."

Kayla clenched her jaw.

"Where is he now? Did you hurt him?"

"He's safe. Probably watching the ceremony," she answered. "He asked me out. How dumb of him...it took Nina's death to realize his feelings for me."

"Then why are you doing this?" he asked. "You already got what you wanted."

"I do but this isn't your average happy ending, no. You and you're brother and the only things standing in my way," she began, "I can kill you and the thought of him realizing that he lost his brother to the case he couldn't solve will get to him. He'll never live with the fact that he was the reason his brother died."

"What makes you so sure about it?" he nearly chuckled. "You don't know him. In fact, this will only make him want to try harder..."

"What?"

"You're dumb," That hung in the air. "And sloppy, just like every murderer you leave something behind. A clue - "

"Watch it!" she placed her finger on his lips to shut him up.

Little did Kayla know that Matías had been trying to text Anthony for the past minutes. He left his phone in his back pocket to replace them with the keys that he used to open the door. And now that his back was facing the wall and so were his hands, he managed to slip the phone out. He didn't know if he was sending the text to the right person, but since they were texting before, his name should be at the very top of the list.

He typed the message not knowing if he was typing the right things and hit send.

Anthony was watching one of his friends receive the white rolled up paper that was handed to them as they were called up. He cheered for his friend but when he sat back down he heard his phone ding. It was a text from Matías.

He was confused by what he was saying. He didn't know what he was reading.

 **Kayka bashment. C Halk.**

He looked around the field because Matías had told him he had arrived minutes ago. There was no sign of him. He looked down at his phone to read the message, but that stopped when Adriel's name popped up. He was calling him.

"Hello?" he asked confused.

"Anthony," he said. It was hard for him to hear what he was saying since it seemed like he was in the middle of driving very fast.

"Yeah? Where are you?" he asked.

"That doesn't matter. I know who did it. I know who killed Nina," he revealed. Adriel was racing to the school's football field with the phone in his hand, "It's Kayla Coleman"

He froze. Everything around him was in slow motion. He removed the phone from his ear and looked around him, he didn't know what he was searching for but it was something. Maybe even someone.

He brought the phone back up to his ears not knowing if he had heard right, but when Adriel continued to speak, it started making sense.

"Nina had a strand of Kayla's hair in her sweater when they performed the autopsy. When we asked her about it she said that Nina was borrowing her clothes...so I started thinking, where was Kayla the night Nina died? She wasn't anywhere. No one knew where she was. I saw the kind of car she had and get this, the tires matched the ones at the scene. That's - that's still not enough evidence but the shoe print at the scene belonged to a girl, the size was a seven. Kayla's shoe size is a seven! There's was still more evidence to look into and that was the letter, I had a linguistic test performed on Nina's suicide letter. I had something Kayla wrote sampled and they both had the use of incorrect adverbs. Kayla wrote the suicide letter!"

Anthony's breathing increased. The evidence was a lot and he could hardly wrap his head around it. He had talked to Kayla about solving Nina's murder. He didn't know he was talking to the person who actually killed her. "D-do you know where she is?" he asked. "Where is Kayla now?"

"She's at the ceremony," he informed. "Do you know her?"

Anthony's eyes widened.

He went back to see Matías' text message and then his heart froze. "No. No no no. N-n-n-n-no."

"What?" Adriel was racing through the streets and he made a sharp turn. "Do you know her? And where's Matías? I keep calling him but he's not answering."

He stood up and began running down the bleachers. "I think he's with her -

"What?" Adriel asked.

"They're in the school's basement."

"Anthony if you know her do not approach her - "

He ended the call before he could finish. He stepped down the bleachers yelling at some people while doing so. Once his feet were on the ground, he began to run.

He ran through the empty hallways, making turns and running downstairs. The basement door was already opened and once he was down the stairs, he heard mutters. His hands pressed on the thick walls and a rush of fear ran through his back. He even looked over his shoulders to make sure the door was open and not closed.

From a distance, he could see that there was an opening to the right side of the wall and that's where all the talking came from. He heard Kayla speaking and Matías weak intentions to change her mind.

When he reached the opening he saw that Kayla was hovering over him with a pocket knife in her hand. Just below the knife, on the ground, Anthony could see that there was already a small puddle of blood on the ground.

Kayla made a slight movement and when she did, Matías noticed that Anthony was reaching for a metal bar. He stood behind her and did his best to not make any noise. When he looked over at them, he saw that Matías noticed him. He raised his index finger to his lips giving him the gesture to not say anything.

"If you're gonna kill me why don't you just tell me who helped you," he said and Kayla laughed at him.

"That's something not even the dead should know."

"I called you sloppy for a reason, Kayla. Do not act secretive - "

He stopped talking because Anthony made a step that caught Kaylas' attention. She had seen him. He looked down at his foot but by then she had already turned around and slashed the knife through his shirt, cutting him in the process.

He groaned and swung the bar which hit her head. She fell to the ground and the knife dropped. Matías went to go check on Kayla and she was unconscious. He picked up the knife and cut himself loose. When he turned to look at Anthony, he had his hand over his wound. The blood was spreading all throughout his shirt.

He couldn't stand and when Matías approached him, he lost his balance.

"It's okay, I got you." He grabbed Anthony's hand and draped it over his shoulders. He could still walk, but the cut was what pained him.

"Your head," he muttered.

"I'm fine."

They slowly walked up the stairs and when they made it to the school, the police and an ambulance had arrived. Riley called out to them, but when Matías looked in her direction, Anthony fell.

"Are you okay?"

The blood took up a large portion of his shirt and when he kneeled down, Anthony placed a hand on his wound. "It hurts."

"You're okay. They're here...it's going to be okay..."

Two policemen ran towards them but Matías yelled at them and told them to go into the school's basement. The paramedics followed after and they picked Anthony up.

Everything happened so fast. The day had grown dark and the police sirens were overwhelming, Riley wasn't allowed to come any closer and he could see that she was in tears. Still surprised and confused as to what was happening. Soon enough a paramedic had approached him and was looking at the wound in his head.

Matías heard the school doors open and then shut. He looked to his left, Kayla was being brought out of the school with the two policemen. She was in handcuffs and when she spotted him, she looked away. He couldn't put an emotion on her face, but it wasn't sadness and it wasn't regret.

He didn't move until the police drove away. He hadn't accomplished anything other than tell Anthony where he was.

It wasn't over.

Nina was killed by two people, and they had only found one.

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

Riley stared at the person in front of her. It had been so long since they've talked, so long since they've stared at each other. She didn't know how to act around him - it was like they were strangers. Back to the beginning.

Lucas looked down at his hands and he finally let out a loud sigh, he sat back in his chair and struggled to say something. "This isn't us..."

"I know," she said placing a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Why is it so hard?"

"It's been so long," he looked up at her but was relieved to see that her eyes weren't looking back at him. He didn't think he was ready for that.

"There's something I need to tell you," he said.

"What?" Riley asked. "What is it?"

"I found out about something," he said. "About my parents."

"Is it bad?"

"Not really no," his voice was hoarse and Riley could tell it hurt him to talk about it.

"You know you don't have to tell me if you don't want to," she reassured and touched his hand. "Lucas' I don't want you to feel like - "

"Riley, I want to tell you," her eyes finally met his. She had been staring at his hand the whole time. "My mom was Harper's mom stepsister."

She furrowed her brows.

"I talked to her. They wrote to each other every day."

"Wait," she tried to gather every thought in her head. "I - thought you and Harper were...dating."

"Dating?"

"You guys spent so much time together and the last time I saw you here, you guys were talking and your hands were on her."

"I was being her friend... I mean cousin...what ever we are, but I don't like her...at least not in that way."

A heavy silence lingered among them. He searched the cafe and noticed it was quite empty, everyone had stayed home because of what happened the day before. "Is Maya okay?"

"She'll be fine," Riley's voice was low. "She's still scared. That's all they show on the news. I mean with Nina's death, a high school student being her murder, and now a woman's missing body was found...they just keep getting so much profit off of this towns mischief."

"I'm glad you're okay..."

Riley gave him a faint smile and then when he looked away so did she, "Maya told me that Missy already knew about the body."

"How?" he asked.

"I guess Maya found a yearbook in her locker during the beginning of the school year. I don't really know the play of events but one clue led to another and I guess Missy was also being used as a pawn in who ever's game this was. I was gonna go to Maya's house to help her solve this. We know that the woman's name was Lauren Watts - "

"Lauren Watts?" Lucas questioned.

"Yeah...why? What's wrong?"

"How long did they say she was missing?"

"20 to 25 years," Riley clarified. "Why? Lucas, do you know something?"

"I think I can help..."

Riley looked at him and when he stood up so did she. She didn't exactly know what he knew or how he knew it but what mattered most was that he could help Maya solve this after it's been something she's wanted to do ever since she got home that night.

They left Poet's and for the first time, Riley had hope that something could be solved. Less than a year ago she was standing outside the school watching Anthony and Matías struggle to walk away from the place where they nearly almost died. It was hard for her to see because of the police lights and now she felt like she would be the reason something was solved. She wasn't just going to watch from the sidelines anymore. She wasn't going to let herself do so.

 **–**

Maya watched the sunset while she sat on a dock wrapped in Seth's arms. His chin was resting on her head and she felt safe. She felt better than she did before.

When she got home that night, she was absolutely terrified and anxious. She spent the following morning reading every single news report and watching the news because she wanted to know everything that happened.

She would've been home in bed with Katy and Shawn doing everything in them to make her feel better.

When Seth called her and asked if she was okay, she said she wanted to see him. Convincing her parents wasn't so easy but they finally said yes and she was glad they did.

Being there with him was comforting. She felt safe.

"We should get back," he said a little disappointed that their time was coming to an end. "I don't want to make your parents worry."

Maya nodded but before she could stand up, she confessed something.

"You know why I wasn't so scared when we found the missing woman?" she asked and Seth furrowed his brows, "Because I thought it was finally over. I thought that finding her was the clue and what he wanted me to find."

"You should've told me someone was messing with you, Maya. I would've handled it."

"What would you have done?" she asked, "I couldn't tell anyone because I didn't know what he were capable of. There are somethings you can't fix, Seth. I wouldn't even want your help if it means endangering your life."

He didn't say anything because she had a good reason. He knew he would've done the same.

"I fear that...he will never be caught. I'm scared that he'll do this again. I don't know who sent me all those messages, those clues...there's nothing the police have to pick up on. And I don't think he'll ever be found."

"I don't know what to do," Seth hated feeling hopeless. He hated feeling that he had nothing to do and he hated it even more when it came to the people he cared most about in the world.

"We're going to find him someday..."

"I certainly hope we do," she responded.

 **...**

 **Sophomore Year**

Matías rested his head on the cold window of the police car in order to lessen his throbbing headache. When the doctors stitched the wound on his head and told him he was ready to go home, Adriel arranged a police officer to take him. Matías refused at first, but then agreed when he heard Anthony was okay. They didn't dare wake their grandmother or inform Acacia of the incident that happened at school because it would only make them worry.

The officer had previously introduced himself and said that his name was Gabriel and that he would be staying outside his house because his brother ordered him to. It didn't take Matías a long time to realize that he was in danger and Gabriel was his protection.

Whoever helped Kayla kill Nina must've gotten word that she had been caught and that was because of him.

When the car stopped, he was eager to get out of it and into his home. He thanked Gabriel for the ride and closed the door before he walked up a few steps and reached the door to his own house.

The warmth that his house radiated couldn't make him feel any safer.

He took off his coat and grimaced when he felt a sting in his head. The doctors had told him that he should avoid making fast movements or watching tv until his second checkup.

He walked past the kitchen and up the stairs to check on his grandma. The door creaked quietly opened as he peaked his head through, his grandma laid still on her bed asleep.

He gave a faint smile and walked back down the stairs to the kitchen. When he sat on the stool and replayed the day's events, he couldn't help but realize that he had just caught a murderer. Everything was still lingering in his head and he could remember every detail perfectly.

His attention turned to the glass of water on the counter and his grandma's medication. He sighed and grabbed the glass of water as well as the pills and walked back up the stairs.

He stood behind her door and contemplated waking her up for two reasons.

1) she was already sleeping peacefully.

2) she would see his bandages and ask him about it.

He decided that her medication was more important than his situation so he opened the door and walked in. He turned on her lamp and gently called out to her, "Abuela."

She didn't wake up.

"You forgot to take your medicine," he gently moved her and she didn't wake, "Abuela."

He moved her once more and still, her eyes remained closed.

"Abuela? Abuela wake up," this time the shove was stronger than before.

Her eyes didn't open and he began to panic, "Abuela, wake up."

Nothing.

"Oh, my God," His eyes began to tear up and when he moved her with so much force and she didn't wake up, he started to sob, "No," he cried. "No, you can't be..."

He continued to try and wake her, but nothing happened. She didn't wake up.

"You can't die, not today, please. I need you. Abuela I need you, I love you, please don't leave me. Wake up. Wake up."

He stepped back to look at her. The tears got in the way and he quickly wiped them off. Seeing her look absolutely still broke his heart even more. He could hardly see with the tears that built up in his eyes, when he tried to walk down the stairs he would stumble and crash into things. He made it out the door and when Gabriel noticed he was crying, he got out the car.

He asked what was wrong about a dozen times and when he didn't answer, he looked towards the only room in the house that had the lights turned on.

"She's dead," he cried, "My grandma's dead."

* * *

 **Writers Note: This is the mid-season finale of the story and also the end of their sophomore year. The next portion of the series will strictly be about their Junior Year. Let me know what you think in the review section and new chapters should return soon. There will be one more chapter coming soon. In that chapter you will find out what happened when Nina died. You will also find out who her second killer is. After that the story will go on a hiatus.**

 **Basically a "What happened that night?" type of chapter where everything is explained.**

 **Follow, Favorite and Review**


	14. Chapter 14

**Writers Note: I'm going to answer some questions I've been seeing in the review sections. While I'm add it I would like to thank _hopewings6_ and TreasuredReviewer for constantly, constantly reviewing. I love your responses and I look forward to hearing from you two. This chapter was one of those that were written in a rush. This mini-plot had been planned for a long time and it was the process of writing it down and making sure the pieces fit together. There are some things coming in this second part that I want you guys to read. CAN'T WAIT. **

**One of the main questions that have been asked in this chapter is whether Joshaya will workout and I want to say that they will have their moments in the second part. Questions will be asked, feelings will be tested, but if you truly want to know if they will be endgame...you will just have to tune in and find out.**

 **I remember reading in the review section if Geb knew Nina's killer and the answer is yes. Why didn't he do anything? That will be answered in the second part of the story, basically in the next chapter - almost like towards the end. **

**And Anthony was with Nina the night she died, so were Geb and Seth but remember they left and Nina ran off? **

**Lauren Watts is a teenage girl who went missing in 1994 - I might have messed up the date...lol...but in the early 1990's. Maya and Missy found her body when they followed the address sent to their phones.**

 **Did I mention there was a second killer? I am pretty sure I did from the very beginning. Read the ending of the second chapter and that should explain it.**

 **This is it, people. You will find out what happened to Nina.**

 **It's the night that started it all...**

 **...**

 **May 10, 2017**

Nina Michael's gaze fixated on the phone in her hands. She was ignoring what her friends were talking about and slurped her strawberry smoothie very loudly. On her screen, laid the picture of the most chiseled six-pack she had ever seen.

Biting her lips and reading the message just under the picture, she reached for her backpack and looked at her two friends who sat with her on the lunch table.

"Ugh, I totally forgot," she spoke.

"Forgot what?" her friend Missy asked as she had just finished telling her story.

"I forgot I gave Samson my paper so he could do it for me," she informed. "If I don't get it back I'll have nothing to turn in and then I'll fail. I'll see you guys after school."

Nina got up from the table and walked away. She wasn't walking far but she chose to get there earlier. As she entered the building's hall and walked up a flight of stairs, she reached a certain private classroom. Before she placed her hand on the knob, she looked both ways and saw that no one was near. She let out a nervous chuckle and with a grin, she walked into the classroom and set her things down. "All right, you can come out now."

She didn't know where to look but as soon as she heard movements, she turned in that direction.

And there he was.

Mr. Bayard.

The PE teacher.

"Did anyone see you?" he asked and she shook her head no.

A smile graced her lips and he leaned in to kiss her. She placed her arms on the back of his head and pulled him closer. "We shouldn't be doing this here," he said in between the kiss.

"You texted me," she barely got the chance to finish before he kissed her again.

"I had to see you," his hands went to her waist and he picked her up. He set her down on the teacher's desk and continued to kiss her. Nina's hands went from the back of his head to the side of his shirt where she began to feel his chiseled body.

His kisses moved to her neck and she began to let out a light moan.

"Geb," she moaned, but then her eyes widened.

Bayard stopped kissing her and slowly pulled back to look her in the eyes, "What?"

"N-nothing," she said. Staring at him this closely especially now, she could see his heartbreak.

"You-you said his name," he let go of her completely and looked at her, her gaze didn't meet his. "You told me you didn't care about him."

"And I told you it shouldn't matter to you," she got off from the desk and ran a hand through her hair. "We broke up and I still like him."

His hands clenched. "You told me you stopped."

"I lied. I've done it before and I will certainly do it again," she admitted. She didn't understand why he so badly wanted to be in her life and why he cared so much, she made it clear in the beginning that she was only in it for the sex.

He sighed, "I actually thought we had a chance."

"How foolish of you," she said and he turned to look at her. "...to think that."

"That's enough Nina," he wasn't in the mood to hear her say something that would bring him down. She always did and he hated that she had gained so much power over him. "Get to class."

She fixed her shirt and slid down the desk. Once she was on her feet, she grabbed her backpack. But when she walked past him the felt the need to add something, to set things clear so that he knew where they stood, "I will always choose him. You shouldn't forget that."

The door closed as soon as she stepped out. Bayard ran a hand through his hair and then placed his hands on the desk she was previously on.

He never did forget.

He would always be her second choice.

 **–**

The day was dark and Kayla was sitting on her bed watching Netflix on her computer. Her phone dinged and shortly after a knock on her door was heard. It didn't even take her a second to know who that was. She extended her arm and reached for her phone,

 **Nina (1):**

 **Open up!**

Throwing her phone on her bed, Kayla got off from her bed and walked towards the front door. When she opened it, she saw Nina standing there. She was texting on her phone and the pace her fingers were moving at blew her mind.

"I need to borrow a shirt," she walked in, pushing her in the process and walked to her room.

By the time Kayla was there, Nina had already slid off her shirt and had a different shirt in her hand. It was a white cashmere oversized sweater. She observed herself in the mirror and put it on.

Five minutes later she turned to look at Kayla for her approval, "It looks nice," she said. She always said it.

Nina's gaze returned to the mirror behind her, "Is this how you're going to spend your day?"

"Yeah," she responded half-heartedly. She didn't have anything to do and her parents were out of town. "Why?"

"No reason," she sat on the corner of her bed. Her hand ran through her hair when she was done she turned to look at Kayla, "I was at Mike's house and Aaron was there."

Kayla looked at her but feigned disinterest.

"He's cute...I can see why you like him."

The blonde stood up from her bed and Kayla watched as she walked away.

She chose to ignore why she said that but something told her, she would find out soon.

 **–**

The backroads were infamous to high school students because it was the only part in town that wasn't monitored by the police. Students would drive there without their license or permit, they'd drink, get high, vandalize abandoned sheds, and sometimes go there to have sex.

Nina, Geb, Anthony, and Seth were currently driving to a part of town they have known since they were in the eighth grade. They found the place when Geb's dad was taking them to a shack they believed a serial killer used to live in. On the ride there, Geb needed to use the bathroom and his dad stopped the car. The boys didn't know at the time, but the place Geb's dad stopped at, was a place they would continuously return to. It had a nice outlook of the mountains and the sunset.

When they arrived, Anthony and Geb started the fire. Seth, however, took off his backpack and set it down in front of him as he took a seat on the wooden trunk behind him. He unzipped the black Jansport backpack and reached for it. A few seconds later his hands came out with a beer in his hand.

"I stole this from the fridge," he said as he handed it to Nina and then threw one at Geb.

"Don't you think you're parents will notice?" Nina asked as she took a seat next to him.

"They haven't noticed before," he said, "And I don't think they will."

The fire was just getting started when they took a seat around it. May was starting to feel more like summer to them and the warm weather and the sunset only made them feel more comfortable.

They talked for a few minutes about memories from the past, the funny things they did as children, the funny things they'll do as adults and their current lives at the moment. The more they talked the more they drank and eventually it was night. They talked and laughed for hours and at a random given moment, a lasting silence grew.

Nina's eyes went to Geb's and as if on cue, their eyes met. It was normal for them to look away but not this time. Their eyes remained locked and for a short moment, there was hope. Hope that they could be together again and hope that she could finally apologize to him for treating him so horrible.

Before anything could happen, his eyes went to his phone that had just recently gone off. When he read the message or whatever caused it to go off, a smile brightened his face.

Just then Seth and Anthony chuckled.

"Who was that?" asked Seth.

"No one," he said with a smile. "Don't worry about it."

"What did Riley want?" he asked. "What time's the date?"

At that moment, the silence grew again and Geb's eyes widened. Nina noticed this and looked at him, "What?"

"It's nothing," he said. But there was something about the way he said it that only made her want to know. "Nothing."

"Geb, what is it?" she inquired, this time her voice was more delicate but it was clear she would either be sad or really, really angry. "What date?"

He looked down at the dirt near his shoes and sighed, he knew he had to tell her. "Riley and I are going on a date."

"Oh," she was surprised. She had definitely seen the occasional glances or smiles, sometimes when they were talking in the halls his eyes would trail from her's to Riley's but she never thought much of it.

Seth definitely knew he had messed up and potentially caused an argument. He didn't know what to say or what to do so instead he drank from his beer.

"Yeah," was all Geb could say. Now that Nina knew he wasn't sure how he felt about being with Riley. It took a toll on him and caused a new wave of emotion.

"It's just that..." she took a deep breath. "Of all the girls you could've gone to... it just had to be her, didn't it?"

His eyes went to look at her in surprise. Noticing the tone in her voice, he knew they were about to argue once more.

"Nina, I don't wanna do this here - "

"Too late!" she stood up. "You know how much we don't like each other. I can't stand her presence and now you wanna tell me that she's the one you wanna ask? Poor little innocent Matthews who wet the bed back in grade school when she was scared to be left alone in the bathroom. The bathroom. The place to use the bathroom not to pee yourself. How stupid are you?" she questioned. "Truly!"

He could feel his jaw tighten, the anger slowly build up inside him. "Really?" he asked and stood up. "Riley, is the problem?"

She crossed her hands. "I don't see any other problem."

"Half the guys you talk to are guys I don't fuck with - "

"Really?" she yelled at him. "You do not get to tell me who I can and can not talk to - "

"Why not?" he nearly screamed at her. "You did it to me."

"None of my friends - "

"Aaron," he blurted out and the silence hung. "Are you two just hanging out or did you guys already make out ...?" She didn't answer him, "You always, always go with him to places. You post about him to make me jealous and you continue to do it knowing how much it'll anger me."

The silence lingered.

"You still care," she said with a sigh. She placed her hand on her forehead which clearly expressed how irritated she was. If he hadn't known better he would've assumed she would get over it, but maybe he didn't know better. The anger was still noticeable in her words and so was the vein in her forehead. "You will always continue to hate the people I talk to. The people I hang out with..."

"I like Riley," he said shifting the topic a little bit. Making it clear that she wouldn't be able to change his mind. Not this time. "And let me tell you why" before he could continue she had interrupted him.

"I don't wanna hear it," she said. "Anthony hold my purse," she yelled and he took it from her. They were both standing up now, inches from each other, yelling like never before. "I liked Aaron too, but you did everything you could to scare him. To taunt him, to make him feel like less of himself just so you could scold him...admit it."

"You did the same with Riley! With everyone! That's who you are Nina! That's why your the school's bitch! It's why we broke up!"

Anthony had never heard him this angry. He's never heard his voice reach this amount of turmoil. He was yelling so heavily that he was out of breath. When his eyes looked at Seth, he too was surprised he had said this, that Geb had reacted this way. But when his eyes went to look at Nina's, it was like she was used to it.

This reminded him of the time he had comforted her after one of their arguments. If he had known before that this was how intense they would get, he would've tried harder.

Nina pushed him back and yelled at him. She punched his chest and he reached for her hands in order to stop her, "You're an asshole! I hate you! I can't believe I loved you, you asshole!"

"I told you we needed a break and I thought we would be together again...I cried over you so many times, but for what?" he yelled. "For what?! So I can get my heart broken again?!" Their eyes met, both in tears but filled with anger. "God!" he placed his hands over his face in order to stop the tears. "I hate when you do this. It's not my fault yet I have the urge to apologize."

"Apologize!" she yelled. "I deserve every ounce of the millions of "I'm sorry's" you've said to me. You fucked up, Geb! This was your own doing!"

They continued to argue and Seth and Anthony both tried to stop it many times but were unsuccessful. They only way they knew this would end was by letting them handle it themselves.

"I've always put your needs above mine. You want us to hang out? Fine. I drop everything I'm doing, even my homework as I have tried many times to do, but you stop me from doing it and I let you because I care about you, Nina! You want me to take you somewhere? Fine. I'll do it because I want you to be happy! You want to go on a date? Fine. To go eat? FINE! I DO IT BECAUSE I CARE FOR YOU," he yelled back and let out a heavy sigh in order to calm himself down. "But when I ask you for something, we get into this huge argument and you say you want us to break up. I try, I try so hard to stop you from making that decision, but everything you say, everything you do is all because you want to do it."

"That's not true," she said. She knew it wasn't and she couldn't believe what he was saying. She wanted so badly to yell, to scream and let out ALL her anger out. She had kept so much inside her but she couldn't let it out. "April 25th, late at night you text me saying you want to talk and I listen. I tell my parents I'm going out to see you and they nod because they know you're the only good thing happening in my life. The only good thing! My parents are close to getting a divorce and they are going to fight for custody over me and I do everything to be with you! That day when you texted me and told me you needed to talk, I thought it was because you were going to apologize for forgetting our anniversary..."

Geb looked at her and furrowed his brows. Then he sighed. They broke up that night, but they started dating on the 24th a year earlier for the second time. He put a hand over his face knowing more tears were coming.

"But instead you tell me that you think we should break up..." she cried, she threw her hands in the eye and then wiped the tears away. She couldn't cry - not for him. "And I didn't argue because I was convinced your feelings for me were gone. I gave you so much..." she said but she couldn't think of anything else. "You-you took so much from me and I let you because I cared for you. I lied to so many people, so many people, but you were the only one I looked at in the eyes and told the truth to. I meant it, every word, when I said I had faith we would find each other some day again, but now...now I don't even know..."

"Okay," he sighed. "That's enough. That's enough. We need to go."

She watched as Seth and Anthony stood up. She wished they would just listen and she could finish. "NO," she yelled at him. "You are gonna listen to me this time!"

"Nina," he yelled. So much anger inside him it surprised him. "We're leaving!"

"No, I'm not moving."

Geb sighed and before she could even move. He had picked her up and started walking towards the car. Before he could even reach the car, which was a great distance from where they stood, Nina did everything she could to stop him from touching her. She finally got her hand free and she used it to pull on his ear. He let her go and when he did, she pushed him and ran.

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!" he yelled when he noticed she was running into darkness. "NINA!"

Anthony looked at him, "I'll go get her."

"No," Geb stopped him and took a breath. He breathed many times and then wiped his face, "No."

"We can't just leave her..."

"She'll find her way home."

Anthony didn't move, instead, he watched the void of darkness she ran into. His eyes went down to the object in his hands, it was her purse. Before anything else could happen, he heard Geb's voice yelling at him. He turned his back and walked towards the car.

If he would've known, if any of them would've known that that was the last time they would see Nina, they would've run after her.

But they didn't.

And they will always regret it.

 **–**

Nina chose to run because she was angry. She hadn't realized it was a mistake until it was too late. She didn't realize she had run off without her phone. She was drunk from the amount of beer she drank and she could hardly walk through the leaves and sticks on the ground. But she was sure she would make it home in an hour or so.

Part of her felt stupid for making such a stupid mistake and the other half, most of that half, was too angry to feel stupid. She kept getting angry just thinking about Riley and Geb together, holding hands and smiling at each other. She couldn't stand the idea of the two because they were completely different.

Well, at least most of the time they were.

She would occasionally grab onto trees in order to help herself get to higher ground. It was a struggle and she hated it. She hated how bad her life was right now. Nina dealt with the break up a different way than she thought she would. That day, she called Aaron and told him the news. They met up somewhere late at night and talked. For the first time, she felt comfortable reconciling with someone she liked but didn't know completely.

She really wished the feelings she felt then would have stayed.

She wished the confidence and the not being able to care...she wanted to go back to that night.

The day after, during school, Nina talked to Bayard. Their relationship had been going on for a few days now and the farthest they got to was stripping each other down, but not completely.

That day. She locked his room and made sure the windows were covered.

Nina needed a distraction and he was the only thing she could think of.

She didn't know it would continue for two more weeks and soon, she didn't think it would end. She feared that he was started to fall for her.

The feeling of empowerment didn't come until she noticed he would stare at her in the hallways and always look at her in class. She liked it, but she knew it was wrong.

She finally reached the road and from there she made a right.

The night she and Aaron talked was almost forgotten but the thing that blew all those memories back into proportion was the silent night. The crickets chirping and the low noises of the owl brought her back to that day. She noticed that the road was getting brighter and soon enough she heard a car. When she turned to look back at it, she noticed it was Kayla.

She stopped the car and got out of it. She was shocked to be seeing her walking late at night on this side of town. "What the hell are you doing?"

"How did you find me?" Nina asked. She was so happy she could give her a hug.

"Anthony..." she said. "He told me."

Nina got in the car and started to wipe the tears from her eyes.

Kayla started the car and drove but she was still concerned for her friend. "What happened?"

"Geb," she answered. "He's...he's stupid and I really don't want to talk about him."

"Are you drunk?" she asked and Nina nodded. "You shouldn't have gone with them."

"I've known them since we were little. They're my best friends...I just...I wanted to know if we still had the same connection we had before," Nina said and sniffled. "I guess I was wrong. I just wanna go home."

The drive remained quiet and Nina could feel herself getting tired. She wanted to sleep already and when she looked up at the road she realized they were somewhere she had never seen before.

"Hey, where are we?"

Kayla didn't respond.

She looked at the time in her car and realized it was fifteen minutes later. She had fallen asleep, but even if she did she should've been home. "Kayla, where are you going?"

"I'm taking you home," she responded.

"You're," she sat upright to get a better view of the road, "...going the wrong way..."

"No. You're just drunk go back to sleep."

As soon as she said that she noticed a sign saying, Leaving Waterbrooke. She turned to look at her and this time she was angry with her, "Where the hell are you going? Take me home!"

Kayla made a left turn before they reached the sign and Nina was still confused. She wanted to be home right now away from the rising headache that was making her nauseous.

A few seconds later, when they were somewhere surrounded by trees, Kayla stopped the car and made sure Nina couldn't get out.

"What are you doing?"

"You've always been a bitch," she said to her and Nina was confused. "I know...about you and Aaron."

She ran a hand through her hair, "This...this is why you brought me here?"

"Everything I have, you've always wanted it. Every boy I like, you've slept with. Why am I still your friend?"

"I am not in the mood for this," she deadpanned. "If you want to argue pick another day because I am not in the mood. Now, take me home!"

Car lights flashed behind them and got both of their attention. When the car stopped next to them and a figure got out, Nina didn't know who it was. She had an idea because she's seen the car before, but there was something about it that brought a bad feeling.

The person tapped on Kayla's side of the door and she brought the window down, "You're late."

When the person leaned down a little to look a Nina, her eyes widened. It was Bayard.

"You're early."

"What's going on?" she asked. "Why are you here?"

"I've put up with your bullshit for so long," Kayla sighed and looked at her with so much anger and hostility. "Now I'm gonna live in a world where there is no Nina Michael."

She gestured to the back seat and when Nina looked at it, she grew scared. "Anthony never called you, did he?" she asked as she stared at the rope. "What are you going to do?"

"You'll find out," she said and unlocked the car. When she did Nina saw this as her opportunity to run. Her hand went towards the door and she pushed it open with one hard push. Her feet touched the ground and she ran. It didn't help that she was still drunk and felt like every step she took was bring her down. When she turned back to look at them, she noticed that Kayla wasn't too far behind her. She looked straight ahead to run a little further but she didn't realize that she was running towards a rock, it was too late to change course and she fell.

Her knee landed first on the ground and she groaned in pain. She turned around and Kayla was hovering above her, she tried to crawl away but that failed. She climbed on top of her and her hands went to her head. She brought it up a bit and then slammed it down on the dirt. When Nina continued to struggle, she repeated the same thing over and over again. Her hands scratched Kayla's wrists and even her face but nothing happened.

It wasn't until that last hard head slam that the struggling stopped.

She wouldn't move.

"You bitch," she yelled at her unconscious body. She placed her hand on the scratch and cursed under her breath. "Rot in hell," she breathed.

Bayard watched from afar, he wanted to stop her but it was too late. If Nina escaped, he was sure she would tell someone. He would lose his job.

Kayla turned around and looked at him, "Pick her up," she commanded, "And take her to the stage."

He did as he was told and picked her up. They were half ways by the car when he noticed she was just pretending to be unconscious. Nina brought out her house key from her back pocket and used it to stab him.

He dropped her and she struggled to stand up. Before she could take one more step before she could even realize he had dropped her, his hands went to her feet and he pulled her towards him. His hands wrapped around her neck and he could see the fear in her eyes. It hurt him but all he did was close his own. He couldn't see her die.

And that was his intention.

He couldn't have her someday threaten him to tell someone about their affair. He couldn't take that chance.

His hands were pressing on her throat and he could hear her wheezing and crying. Memories they made together were coming back to him and he almost released his grip. He pressed on her throat harder and just then her eyes closed.

She was dead this time.

He wiped a tear from his eye and then looked up to see Kayla. They were both surprised with each other's reactions that night.

One who was completely broken by his actions,

and the other,

...the other was surprised to see a tear on his face.

"What do we do now?" he asked and Kayla dropped the rope on Nina's body.

"We hang her," she answered.

* * *

 **Writers Note: This chapter basically ties everything up and lets the story come full circle. Kayla will not be included in the second part of the story as she has never been included in the junior portion of the series. As for Bayard, I have some ideas in mind. My main focus for the second portion is to tie all the events that lead to the school lockdown. One question that still probably remains is...who brought the gun to school? AND WHY? Thank you guys so much for reading and the second portion should be coming _soon_. Remember: their junior year will continue starting a few weeks after Missy and Maya found the body.**

 **Follow, Favorite and Review**


	15. Chapter 15

**Writers Note: This is the first chapter of the second half of this series. Starting from here and on you will learn how and why the events led up to what was mentioned in the first chapter - the school shooting. The first half led you guys to ask: Who killed Nina? The second half will ask: Who brought the gun? At the end of almost every chapter there will be a part that will pick off where we left off in the first chapter, which is again - the school shooting. So the events after the P.A. of the school announced that someone on campus brought a gun. Tune in to find out. The first half dealt more with crime and murder because Nina's killer was slowly being revealed, but this half will be more dramatic, relationships will start, some will end and it will get messy just trust me. Al** **ways let me know what you think.**

 **Update: Feb 24, 2018**

 **I want to talk about what happened on Feb 14, 2018. This story's main plot leads to a school shooting and with everything that has happened in Florida I want to say that I feel more inspired to write about it. I want you guys to be safe and to always be aware of what could happen, those drills that happen at school are taken for granted but they are meant to let you guys know that it's a possibility and it's important to be safe. It is so sad that these shootings keep taking the lives of many yet there have been no laws to stop it as of yet. I wanted to end this with two words because it is what we desperately need.**

 **Gun Control!**

 **...**

 **Summer**

 **A day after Kayla was arrested**

Riley walked all over her house talking on the phone with Maya and texting Anthony who was now out of the hospital. They were worried about Matías because 1, he was nearly killed by Kayla and 2, his grandma had just passed away. The brunette called and texted him more than ten times and was left with no response. She never heard back from him. She walked towards his house and knocked on his door a dozen times but no one opened. It had been a little over a day since Kayla's arrest and there was still no word about her accomplice - she was worried about him deeply.

She heard her phone ding and then a knock on the door. Picking up her phone and then walking towards the door, Riley hoped it was Matías who was knocking. She decided to read the message will opening the door.

The message was sent by Anthony and it said Matías wished to be left alone and that he will be turning off his phone. When her eyes went to see who was standing behind the door she was meet with a pair of brown eyes.

It was Geb.

"Hey," he said and walked in. He can see the panic on her face and the way she would pace her house only proved she was scared. "I figured you needed someone to talk to."

"I do," the lump in her throat made it harder to speak. Geb extended the both of his hands and Riley hugged him. "I've been trying to reach Matías. I've never been this worried about anyone. I could only imagine how hurt he must be. I've called his brother and his younger sister and neither of them have returned my calls. I don't know what to do."

"You just need to give him time, Riley," he said and kissed her forehead. "Give him one day to let him deal with things and then try again tomorrow, that way he knows you're trying to give him space."

"I know," she said and leaned her head on his chest. She let out a breath but then pulled back from him. "It's just that - " she stopped speaking and their eyes met. She looked as if she had remembered something she had completely forgotten about. She furrowed her brows before she spoke, "Where the hell did you go last night?"

"What?"

"Where did you run off to?" she asked, her voice was firm. "You left me worried. I was scared for you and now you think you can just show up like nothing happened."

"I came to make you feel better, Riley - "

"Then tell me where you went!" He had never seen her angry. He was surprised but also understood where she was coming from. He had disappeared the night something terrible happened.

"The cabin," he answered her and then watched as she turned her back on him. "When Seth called me and told me what happened I came back. My dad was worried and I didn't want him to be scared so I talked to him. I apologized for overreacting in our argument as well, I just came back from seeing him."

Riley sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She was losing it. Knowing she had overreacted as well and seeing that she had somehow accused Geb of something, she said she was sorry and gave him another hug.

"I didn't know she would attack him, I'm sorry," he hugged Riley with more strength.

The brunette froze at his words and raised her chin to look at him. "What?" she asked while stepping back from him. "What do you mean?"

"What did I say?" he asked, worried that he might've said something he shouldn't have.

"You know what you said," her voice was hoarse like she was scared and about to cry. _Could it be?_ she asked herself. _Could he know something about Kayla and her intentions?_

He took a deep breath and fidgeted with the object that rested on the stand near the gray couch. Geb knew he couldn't lie to her now, he had hidden so many secrets from her that it was hard to come up with one more. His eyes went to go look up at her and she had never seen so much fear in her eyes. He took a deep gulp, "I didn't help Kayla kill Nina if that's what you're thinking."

"How do I know you're not lying?"

Geb knew that he would have to confess everything that he had been trying so hard to keep from her. "I was with Nina the day she died," he confessed. "...but I left her because we got into an argument."

"But...you talked to the police - "

"I lied to them, Riley. I needed to protect myself, so I lied."

He sat down on her couch and hung his head. What he was telling her now could hurt his relationship with her and he didn't want it to, but he needed to be honest with her.

"I knew Kayla killed Nina," he admitted and felt the tears piling up. "She told me she would hurt you if I told anyone - "

"That doesn't help - "

"It's not supposed to," he explained. He thought that if he touched her it would help ease her fears but it didn't. Instead, she yelled at him. "I couldn't have her near you, I couldn't."

"But you let her near Matías, you let her near Anthony knowing what she had done. You should've told someone even if my life was threatened someone was murdered!"

"I couldn't have two people die because of me!" he yelled at her. "Riley," he ran a hand through his hair, clearly expressing his frustration. "If she had hurt you in any way I don't know how I would've reacted."

"You knew what she had done, but you protected her. Don't you see that - ?"

"I didn't protect her! That wasn't my intention," he shook his head realizing how horrible it sounded. He never meant to protect her even though that's how it looked.

"That's what you did! And Anthony and Matías nearly paid the price with their own lives! My best friend! Who lost his grandmother on the same day, how could you?!"

"I wasn't trying to, Riley. I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt -"

"Well someone did. Two people did. One of them was my best friend and the other was yours!" she walked towards her door and opened it, signaling she was done with their argument and she wanted him to leave her house.

He stared at her and hung his head. He felt terrible and didn't want to leave but he also didn't want her to feel more hurt or scared than she already was. He left her house that night not realizing they would never be okay again. She hated and never wanted to be with him for so long that it marked the end of them.

Riley closed the door and wiped the tears from her eyes. She never knew how it felt to have your heart broken until now. She leaned her back on the door and crouched down until she was sitting down. Her head rested on the back of the door and she felt like she couldn't handle any more bad news. She felt her phone ring and it was a message from Maya.

 **Maya Hart (1):**

 **Turn on the news**

She furrowed her brows and stood up from where she was. She grabbed the remote and quickly changed to the news channel. She sat on the wooden table in the living room and read the other messages Maya sent her.

She would've read the last one but something caught her attention.

 _Nina Michael's killer was arrested last night during a graduation ceremony their school held. The lead detective on the case, Adriel Reyes, was able to gather enough information to arrest her but when they knocked on her door, the killer's parents reported that she attended the ceremony in which she was arrested. Nina's autopsy and crime scene revealed that two people were involved in her murder. In the autopsy, it was reported that two hairs were found on her body, those of which did not match hers. When the results came back it was disclosed that one of Nina's murderer was none other than Abigail Adam's High School's own P.E. teacher._

Riley's phone fell out of her hands when the picture of Nina's second murderer was revealed. Her chest rose and fell with rapid breaths as her mind raced a million miles per minute.

It was Bayard.

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

 **Four Weeks after Gate's Festival**

 **December 7th, 2017**

"History," James began as he stared into Matías eyes. He had just sat down and set his notebook right in front of him in order to get his attention. They were in the library just before their next period started and James needed to be reminded of some of the information. Since Matías was his tutor he figured he would pay him a visit. "Perhaps the most boring subject in school."

"I actually find it quite interesting," he said and looked at the study questions. "We're learning about the events that shaped our country, but to most people that doesn't seem to matter."

"It doesn't matter to me. History is just boring and the fact that we have quizzes every goddamn Wednesday just makes it even worse," said James as he expressed his hate towards the subject. "How are your friends by the way?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know, Maya?" he asked and waited for his reaction but he never got one. "You do know she and Missy found a body, right? A dead one."

"I do," he nodded. "She's great. She's been coming to school, haven't you seen her?"

"Trust me, everybody has seen her. As soon as she steps into the hallway everything goes quiet," he advised. "That used to happen to you too."

"I know," he said. In the beginning of his junior year, Matías couldn't go a day without being stared at. People were almost scared to walk right passed him. "I'm glad it stopped."

They started at each other and James smiled at him, "I was planning on going over this with you, but I see your friend over there has been staring for the past minutes."

Matías looked over his shoulder and saw Anthony. He noticed a change of look on his face when it came to James. Like he was angry about something but then smiled when their gazes crossed.

He turned back to look at him, "You don't need to leave, I can just tell him to go."

"It's cool," he strapped his backpack on and pushed in his chair. "I'll see you tomorrow."

As soon as he was gone, Anthony walked over towards him and grabbed the chair next to him and sat down. His hair was longer and he was starting to grow a little mustache just above his lip. "Are you doing anything after school."

Matías shook his head, "Besides hear my sister playing piano all day, no."

"Good," Anthony said which took him by surprise. "We're going to the movies after school."

"I can't," he said and then reached for his backpack.

"What do you mean? You said you had no plans."

"I just mentally made some," he looked back at him and laughed. "I forgot to vacuum my room."

"Really?" he crossed his arms. "That's the excuse you come up with?"

"I-my grandma's dead," he deadpanned.

"Well damn, if you don't want to go all you need to say is no..." His hands tapped his pockets and he started humming. Something he usually did when he felt awkward or did something he thought was going to work out.

"You already bought the tickets, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I have them in my pocket," he said and then pulled them out. "I didn't think you'd say no."

 **–**

 _Winter is just right around the corner and so is the Winter Formal. December - January will contain special events that are just days after the other. Special events coming up include:_

 _Rally_

 _Glow!_

 _Winter Week_

 _Tractor Parade_

 _Elf's Night_

 _Winter Formal_

Riley stopped typing and looked over at her calendar which rested just beside her. There were so many events leading up to their Winter Formal which was something she would need to help decorate as well. Maya walked into the room and placed Riley's coffee next to her and then sat on her own desk. The blonde ran a hand through her now shorter blonde hair and then wiped off some of the crumbs from the cookie that had managed to stay on her cheeks. Now since she wore no makeup it was easier to wipe her face without fearing she'd damaged it.

Ever since she'd discover the body, she has been trying to switch up her life a little bit. She wants to feel different and now that the new semester of school started she felt anew. "Is there anything you need me to work on?" she asked and the brunette nodded.

"Yeah, Josh took some more pictures and he needs you to work on the flyers for the formal. We agreed that we'd meet up at my place to finish the posters."

Maya nodded and opened her laptop.

On her way here she had passed Josh and Missy and she overheard them arguing about something. She didn't know what it was but she found it weird that they would be fighting so soon after the incident that happened.

She didn't want to think too much into it because she felt she would find herself trying to meddle now that Missy had become a really close friend. She looked over at Riley who was busy typing, she normally stayed quiet when she was busy. "I heard we were doing well," she informed her. "We get almost five hundred reads out of a school that has close to a thousand students enrolled."

Riley smiled, "The numbers are going up and I expect them to during Winter week. I need people to know _Abigail's Hilltop_ is doing great thanks to you guys."

The blonde smiled.

Winter week was a thing at their school in which students dressed up on what ever that specific day required them to wear. Not everyone had to participate but many of them did.

"I heard you and Lucas are friends again," she brought up trying to derail the subject. She was interested in how their relationship was growing.

"You're distracting me," she informed and looked over at her. Riley loved that she looked absolutely happy.

"You're my best friend I need to know," she nearly squealed out. "Please tell me you see that he was a huge crush on you. You guys are practically best friends and ever since you guys starting being close again you two are inseparable."

"I'll believe it when he tells me. As of now I am ten thousand percent sure he knows I have feelings for him."

"Why?" she asked. "How?"

"I sort of accidentally, non intentionally told him that he looked cute in the ugly turkey sweater his aunt got him. Since Thanksgiving was last week, the memory is still fresh and I hope he has forgotten everything completely."

Maya chuckled, "I saw the picture I can see how that definitely slipped."

She placed a hand over her forehead, "I think his aunt heard me."

They continued on with their task and when the bell rang signaling school was over for the day, they quickly packed up their things and head out.

 **–**

Geb watched as his younger brother Eden took joy in playing with his friends and running round and round the park playing tag. He sat on a nearby bench just a few feet away from him and he had his phone out. He would occasionally look at him to make sure he hadn't run off.

He was currently talking to Seth who was trying to tell him that they should go back to the place they buried the pictures of Geb's past. He was confused at first and didn't know why he would want to go back to that place especially now. He prepared a response but when he heard little footsteps running away he looked up. He couldn't see Eden anywhere and he stood up. He was running towards something but he didn't know what.

It didn't take long to reach him because he had stopped shortly after. Geb's eyes went to see who the figure was and when he realized who he was speaking to, his eyes widened.

It was Riley.

She crouched down so she and Eden were eye to eye and she gave him a hug. She then grabbed his hand like she was going to take him back to where he ran from.

It brought a smile to Geb.

They hadn't stared at each other in a while but when they did, it felt like everything they had in the past changed. The feeling of hate that Riley had for him seemed to erode, the feeling that they would never be with each other again seemed to have lost itself in this very moment.

They weren't mad, hurt, angry, strangers, they were back to simply knowing about the other.

They were back to the beginning.

Riley and Eden began to make their way back to him. He looked happy and joyful. So much that he would jump from time to time. She smiled when he hugged his legs but when she looked at him, his eyes were still on her.

Geb had recently gotten a new haircut and he looked clean but tired. There was something about him that just made Riley feel hopeful that they could be friends again.

"Hi," he said and Eden laughed. He looked down at his younger brother and patted his head, "Why don't you go back to the park? Don't run off anywhere."

As soon as he was gone and Geb made sure he ran towards the park, he turned to look at Riley who now had her hands in her pockets. "I haven't seen you lately." It's been three weeks since they last spoke at the carnival and though they had school in between, he hadn't seen her one bit. He was aware of her friendship with Lucas and it had gotten so obvious that they like the other that almost everyone has talked about them.

Riley nodded not knowing what to say and felt uncomfortable with the silence. She looked past him to see Eden and smiled when he ran and slid of the slide. "He's gotten so big since I last saw him."

"Yeah," he smiled. "He's also a lot smarter than I was at that age."

The silence grew heavy once more and he looked away for the first time. He hated that even though they overcame every obstacle, they were still faced with one gigantic one.

And that was the awkwardness they were now trapped inside in.

Riley noticed his eyes weren't on hers anymore and she took this time to look at him. Some part of her still missed him even though she hated to admit it. They were a few feet away but she felt like she could still smell him. He had a scent that made Riley feel comfortable and warm and now it was starting to come back to her.

Their eyes met and Riley figured it was time to leave home, "I'm glad we got to see each other again, but I should go."

"Yeah," he agreed even though he wanted her to stay a while longer. "It was nice talking to you again."

The brunette felt like she needed to say something or do something but she didn't know what nor why. She gave him a faint smile and uttered, "Goodbye, Geb."

 **–**

"I miss Riley," Eden said as he approached Geb who was now walking back from where he previously was, talking with Riley. He crouched down to look at him and he made sure he was warm.

"So do I," he said and put on his beanie. "She's very beautiful."

"Bebbie," his younger brother called him since he couldn't pronounce his actual name. "Where's Nina?"

He didn't know how to answer that question anymore. Nina had met him many times, more than he can count. They spent countless of holidays together and Eden was only one or two years old, he couldn't have remembered her.

"She's gone," he answered in a hoarse voice. "She's in a better place now."

"I miss her too," Eden said with a pout.

Geb hadn't realized how the people he dated or grew a connection to also affected his younger brother. Feeling like tears were about to roll down his cheeks, he gave his brother a hug and they prepared to go home.

 **–**

Riley's house was filled with posters, paint, pencils, stencils, cotton, markers and so much more. Winter week was coming soon and she and Maya were preparing for it with the help of Lucas. Although Riley was in student government, she had taken the task to prepare the posters because her newspaper was covering this piece and she felt she could use it towards her own advantage.

As she helped place the cotton on the blue poster to act as snow, she gave Lucas a glance and noticed that he was so concentrated on drawing the snowflake. She was happy and she found it cute.

Maya walked in with a printed layout for the newspaper cover and asked them which one they preferred. Just like always, they agreed on the same one. She walked back into the other room and she and Lucas were left alone.

"I heard Harper went to Texas," Riley began the conversation.

"Yeah," Lucas confirmed. "She talked to her parents and they felt it was right to let her go back. She has a lot of family over there that she's with right now."

"We talked," Riley began which caught Lucas' attention. "...briefly," she added seeing his reaction. "And she told me you talked to her mom. She told you about everything you were looking for."

Lucas set the white paint down and looked at her. He told her the real reason he decided that they spent some time away from each other, and that was because he wanted to know about his parents and the secrets they hid between them and Harper's family. He knew Riley was trying to get him to talk to her and explain everything, in detail.

"She did," Lucas confirmed.

Riley could only nod. Maybe sometime, when the moment was right, he would tell her the truth.

A knock on the door caught both of their attention and Riley went to open it. When she did she found Missy and Seth at the door, she gave them a smile and opened the door further so they could walk in.

Both Missy and Maya haven't been able to let go of whoever kept sending them those notes. They weren't prepared to give it a rest and they needed to know who it was. They had multiple guesses but every time they talked about it seemed impossible.

The discovery of the body gave them a signal and let them know that this wasn't something silly nor stupid, it was serious. They were grateful that _that_ was the last day they ever had any form of contact with the person.

They weren't receiving any calls nor texts anymore.

Waterbrooke Police Department publicly announced that they would launch an investigation on the case. Since Matías' brother, Adriel, wasn't assigned to the case, they were left to figure things out on their own.

Missy and Maya had already confessed everything to the police and were finally left alone.

"Why don't we start from the beginning?" Seth suggested as he searched for food in Riley's kitchen.

"We already did," Missy answered. "The first time I received a note, I was in the girls locker room. Maya found a note and a yearbook in her personal locker and everything started then."

"To clarify, this happened on the same day, right?" Riley asked.

"First day of school," they confirmed in unison.

"What happened after that?" Lucas asked. "Missy what was on the note?"

"I was told I need to search Ms. Holt's classroom for keys," Missy answered his question. "Soon after that I received the very first text message saying 'Well done.'"

"Maya?" Seth questioned because he wanted her to explain what it said on the note.

"The note read _I leave this to you_ like he wanted me to figure it out," she said. "Whatever it was."

"I don't understand..." Riley said. "Why you two? There must be something behind it, right?"

"We don't know."

"The yearbook was even worse," Maya explained. "There were so many things written on it. It's like they were reasons."

"Reasons?" Missy asked.

"They were horrible things that person did to them," Maya said. "I flipped through many pictures and I saw that one of them was missing, like it had been scratched off. I assume that's the picture of the person who was doing all of this. When I went to look at previous pictures in the library, I couldn't find any that seemed to match whoever this person is. I think they were a new student the during the year 1994."

"What grade were they in?"

"They were juniors," Maya answered.

"You said there were reasons on the yearbook. What were some of them?"

"One of them had a picture of this guy and there were so many post it notes, on the notes he wrote the reasons. They said that he was in love with the same girl that person was and that led to many complications."

Lucas furrowed his brows.

"Who was this person?" Riley asked.

"His name," she began but something wanted her to stop fearing the connection it might make. She chose to continue anyways, "His name was Marshall Friar."

Lucas immediately looked up, "What?" It wasn't his confusion that caused everyone to look at him, it was the way he said it. It was like he somehow knew the person.

"Do you know who that is?" Riley asked.

He gulped. He wasn't sure if he had heard the name right, but even if he did. He knew the scenario was too familiar to be a coincidence. "He's my dad."

 **...**

 **One Month Later**

 **January 18th, 2018**

 **1:43 pm**

Riley and Lucas waited in the janitors closet. They were scared that they would be found by whoever had the gun and it didn't help that Riley's rapid breathing could be heard for miles. Lucas stared at her many times as she looked into her phone, she would sigh when she would get no response and bang her head on the wall.

Lucas wasn't hearing any movements outside and he had pressed a lot of cleaning tools against the door that would surely prevent someone from getting in.

"Riley," he said and she looked up against him. "It's okay."

"No," she responded and looked at her phone once more. "No, it's not."

"We're okay. We're safe."

"We don't know that," she set her phone down and sat down next to him. His arms wrapped around her he leaned his chin on her shoulder, "We should make a run for it..." she suggested and Lucas shook his head no.

"No, we can't risk it."

"I'm scared," she whispered. "No one's responding. Maya, Anthony, Matías, none of them."

Lucas kissed her head, "We just need to wait. Maybe that way - "

Something stopped him from talking. It wasn't because he was stuttering or because an idea came to him, but it was because he heard the loading of a gun. And then...a gunshot.

Lucas felt that Riley was about to scream. He pressed his hand against her mouth and told her to not move. If he heard the gun being loaded then the person was close to them. Dangerously close.

He closed his eyes and loosened his grip on Riley. A slight tear rolled down his cheek and when he heard footsteps, his eyes widened.

The only thing protecting them right now was the door and the cleaning tools behind it.

* * *

 **Writers Note: Aghhhh! What's going to happen? Are Maya, Matías, and Anthony all right? Where is everyone else? Who brought the gun? The story is coming to an end but I feel like the chapters coming up are gonna be longer than before. Keep in mind I'm typing this before the up and coming chapters are written.**

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	16. Chapter 16

**...**

 **Junior Year**

School rallies were never really anyone's thing. Sure, they were fun and took time from class but at the end of the day, it's pointless. As students walked out of the gym and prepared to go home Maya searched for Riley in the crowd of so many people. They agreed to meet after school once again to find the person who had been sending them the messages. With the information that had been provided in the last days, they were one step closer than before. As Maya walked away from the horde, she heard two people arguing.

Curious to see who it was, she peaked her head through the edge of the wall and was stunned to see Josh and Missy. They didn't look too happy with each other. Josh was saying something that she couldn't hear well and Missy looked like she didn't want to be there with him. When he stopped talking she ran both her hands through her hair and took a deep sigh. She said something and it took Josh a while to nod his head. Maya decided to walk away because she didn't want to hear something that didn't include her.

She felt her phone ring and it was a text message from Riley.

 **Riley Matthews (1):**

 **Meet at my house in 10**

Anthony had waited till everyone left the gym before he stood up from sitting on the bleachers and walked out. He didn't like that the doors would be crowded with students trying to make their way out which made it hard for him to get by, especially to walk past the people that walk slow. As he got out he looked at his phone to see if Matías has texted him, he hadn't. He searched for him and eventually found him, he was talking to James.

His eyes rolled and then his jaw tightened when they both started laughing. Ever since Matías began to tutor him, they both have been distant. They don't talk or hang out anymore and he's scared they won't be friends because of it.

James expression grew stern when his eyes found Anthony. He raised his chin and it was clear to Matías that something was going on but he chose to ignore it. James turned to look at him and said they'd meet up the next day for their tutoring lesson when he walked away Anthony approached him. He thought there was nothing wrong with it, they were just two people who didn't know each other, but that changed. Something happened between the two that makes them act the way they do now.

"Hey," he said and he gave him a faint smile. "I thought we could go somewhere today. How does Poet's sound? We can share a muffin and drink hot - "

"Actually," Matías interrupted him. "I can't. But how about next week?"

He was surprised by this. They had never said no to each other when it came to hanging out. He nodded and watched as he walked away. They were drifting apart and he had one person to blame for that.

 **–**

"Lauren Watts used to be my dad's girlfriend back in high school," Lucas informed his friends as they sat on the living room couch in Riley's home. They were hearing about what Lucas knew. Maya and Missy had hoped this would lead to something so they could finally not be scared anymore. "They dated for a couple of days before Lauren went missing. Harper's mom said that my dad and Lauren were supposed to meet up that night for a date, but she never showed up. The last time Lauren was ever seen was mid-October in 1994. I mean what if - what if my parents past connects with whoever was sending you guys those messages?" He looked around to see everyone's reactions. When he looked at Maya, he noticed her expression. It was like something he said connected with something she knew.

"The yearbook I found in my locker was of that same year. 1994." Maya clarified and watched as everyone's eye widened. They all adjusted themselves on the couch to get comfortable.

"That has to be something," Riley said and looked at Lucas. "How old was Lauren when she went missing?"

"Sixteen," he responded and looked at her. "Okay, so if she went missing in October of 1994 at just sixteen, that means she was born in 1978. 2017 subtracted by 1994 is ..."

"23," Lucas answered. "She's been buried for twenty-three years."

"Holy shit," Seth muttered and took a deep breath. "What about Connor? Was he in the same grade as you dad?"

"Yeah. Juniors. So was Lauren." Lucas informed.

"If they're in the same grade it must mean they were born in the same year. Which means they can't be any older than, let's say forty."

"There are thousands of people in this town that are forty years old..." Maya could think of many dead ends because of this. Everything seemed so abstruse.

"Yes, but how many of them are named Connor?" Riley asked. "How many of them went to this high school during the time Lauren went missing?"

"We finally have something," Missy said hardly believing it herself. "So how do we find him?"

"Why are we so certain it's Connor?" Maya asked. "I don't remember seeing a Connor in the yearbook - "

"Yeah, what if that was the name you said was scratched off?" Riley questioned. "I mean you did say that the yearbook you found had post-it notes stating reasons...what if those reasons state why he did what he did?" Riley believed this was their guy. "Tonight before you go to bed, look over the post-it notes. Tomorrow, Lucas and I can go to the school's office and ask for anything that happened during the year Lucas' dad was enrolled here. We can say that he's trying to learn about his dad's past. If that doesn't work we can use your dad's death as an excuse," she said while staring at Lucas. When he nodded, she continued to speak, "We meet back here during lunch. Maya bring the yearbook. Whatever is in those yearbooks I'm sure Harper's mom mentioned before. We'll talk to her if we have to."

For the first time in a while, everyone in that living room had hoped they'd found the guy. They were certain and nothing could change their minds.

 **–**

Anthony messed with the straw in his hot chocolate. Since Matías had rejected his invitation, he had come to Poet's alone. If he had gone home he would've been doing nothing and he doesn't like that. When he's home alone, he gets bored and he has never liked that feeling. He turned to look just outside the window and he realized it would be raining soon. Now that it was December, the days were starting to get colder and cloudy. He loved this time of year but now it was different to him.

"Hey," Josh said as he took a seat in front of him. He had been watching him for the last minute and he has not seen him smile at all. "Tough day?"

"Yeah," he said leaned his head back. "What about you?"

He took a deep sigh which answered Anthony's question. "I've been trying to avoid an argument with Missy all day. I was being careful but then I tell her she shouldn't be hanging out with Riley and Maya too much and then I'm getting screamed at by her and the next thing you know..."

"You're in an argument," Anthony finished for him and adjusted his beanie. "What happened to the charm you said you had?"

"That dies down after a couple months of dating," he informed. "Especially when you activate Missy's bad side on a continuous loop."

"She did just find a dead body," he spoke.

"That's why we argue. I tell her she should just leave the thing at rest since the police are on it, but she refuses. What about you? Why are you here alone?"

"Cause Matías had somewhere to be and I did not," he said. "I live a very boring life."

As soon as he finished saying that, James had walked in from the front door just ahead of him. His expression fell short and Josh noticed this, he turned around to look at whoever it was he was staring at. James noticed Anthony staring at him and he clenched his jaw.

"What did he do?" Josh asked when he turned to look at Anthony.

He snorted and shook his head no, "Nothing."

"Remember that one time in elementary school when he slipped on a skateboard and fell on his knee?" Josh asked and they both started laughing. "He started crying like a little girl in front of everyone."

 **–**

Riley waved Missy goodbye before she closed the door. When she did, she turned to look at Lucas who was still seated on the couch. He hadn't stood up and he didn't look like he was in the mood to speak. She walked to the kitchen and grabbed him a glass of water before she walked back to him, "I thought you could use this."

"Thank you," he said and took the glass from her and set it down on the table in front of him.

Riley sat down next to him and placed her head on his shoulder. He had a certain smell that made her feel cozy and comfortable, she never wanted it to stop. When Lucas first told her that the reason they spent so much time away from each other was that he was digging into his parents past, she didn't think that it'd lead to something that would include her friends. She was also surprised when she found out that Maya had been keeping secrets from her too.

"Are you okay?" Riley asked him.

He turned to look at her and he nodded his head, "I'm okay. You don't need to worry about me, Riley."

"You're my friend, Lucas. I will always care about you."

He shifted himself towards her and now Riley was resting on his chest, he placed his chin on her head and caressed her hair. "I looked for these answers myself Riley, I can handle being hurt for a couple of days."

"I've said it before and I will say it again," she began and looked up at him. "I'm always here if you want to talk."

"I never forget."

"My parents are extending their stay in Colorado for a couple of days. Maya's dad and mom were thinking about coming over for game night, why don't you come?"

"That sounds great."

"Good," she smiled. "I'll let you know when the day comes."

A wave of silence fell on them and Lucas played with the fabric of the couch, "Ever since I moved here you have been the friend anyone would kill for. If it wasn't for you I don't know what I would do," he began and Riley turned to look at him. His hair was long and he was desperate need of a haircut but she didn't mind it if anything it only made him look better. "You're an amazing person."

She smiled at him and when the space between began to close, she released a low breath. Their noses were touching at this point and they were getting closer to each other's lips. She felt his hand touch the back of her neck and felt the rush of energy all throughout her body. His hands traced from the back of her neck to her jawline and then to her lips.

"We can't," he muttered and then their foreheads pressed against each other. "I'll see you later."

Lucas stood up and walked out of her house. Riley watched him do so and she didn't know what he meant by "we can't". Was something stopping him that she didn't know about?

 **–**

"Matías!" Acacia called out to her older brother who was upstairs. She waited a couple of seconds to hear his response, but when he didn't come down the first time, she yelled his name once more. She always felt like she was getting the feedback she deserved when he was listening to her play. He was observant and although she hated it sometimes, it worked in favor. "Matías!"

"What?!" he shouted from his room.

"Come down! There's something I need to show you!" She grinned because there was nothing she needed to show him. She just needed an excuse to get him down here.

"What is it?" he asked. When he came down he wore a white shirt with gray Nike shorts, his hair was disheveled which could only mean he was sleeping. "What?"

"Come," she patted the seat next to her. "Sit with me. I finally found the song I'm gonna play at the recital."

Matías gave a deep, exhausted sigh and rubbed his eyes. "I was sleeping."

"I know," she nodded. "But piano music is therapeutic and you need it. So, sit."

He walked towards her and took a seat. The piano was next to the Christmas tree which they all helped set up, even Adriel who has been paying visits ever since he has been assigned to a case. He is now the lead investigator in Lauren Watts murder. Normally, he would be all over him trying to find information on it but he's learned his lesson. He wouldn't do that anymore.

"What's the song?" he asked and Acacia smiled.

"Angel By the Wings," she answered and just then her fingers touched the keys. She wasn't wrong, whenever she played Matías felt at ease. She was gone and it wasn't that he didn't like to admit it, it was that she took too much pride in it. He loved seeing her smile, but too much of something is never too good - he joked. Matías loved her like an older brother would.

"Hang on," he said and she stopped. "I think the tone went flat when you hit this key," he pointed and Acacia looked at him.

"I heard it too," her smile said it all. "Okay, how about now?"

She redid the piece and this time around it wasn't flat. "Better."

When she stopped playing she marked something down on a paper that rested in front of her. She circled some music notes and turned to look at her brother, "I hate to admit it, but I'm getting better."

"Why's that bad?"

"I guess...I just, don't like to brag."

They both started laughing and when the laughter died, Matías gently shoved her. "Since the recital is coming in a few days I was going to ask you if Anthony could come."

"Yes, that's fine."

He nodded, "Great. That's good. Hey, why don't you invite Kaden over and we'll watch a movie." she turned to look away but he didn't think much of it, "I think we still have some popcorn left maybe -" he heard her sniffle. It didn't take long to see that she was crying. "What's wrong?"

"What? No, it's - it's nothing. I'm just really nervous for...um...the recital."

He furrowed his brows, "Acacia, what's going on?"

"We broke up," she confirmed. "Kaden and I broke up."

Matías extended his hand and he pulled her closer. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"It's just - you've nearly been killed, your friends found a body ... you're surrounded by chaos and it just looks silly that I'm crying over this -" Acacia hadn't let herself cry this much. She told herself she needed to suck it up and ignore but it had been so hard to do so because she sees him mostly every day and he acts like nothing happened. "It's why I've been sitting here six hours a day trying to be perfect because if I win...if I win I'll know that I didn't waste my time and I deserve it."

"Hey," he helped remove the tears trailing down her cheeks. "You don't need to hide your pain just because other people go through worse. You guys were together for a long time."

She tried to change the subject but he didn't let her. "Why did this happen?"

"Kaden felt like I didn't care anymore. I mean - and I'm just now realizing this - but, he gave me so many chances to do better and I ignored them all. It's my fault," she cried. "It's my fault. I thought it was stupid at first, a guy like him is complaining because his girlfriend doesn't give him attention, sounds stupid. But...it doesn't feel stupid. It really hurts."

He kissed her forehead and she leaned on his shoulder, "I talked to him the next day. I thought I could fix it, I've fixed things before but this time he was so wrapped around it and I couldn't change his mind."

"You'll be okay."

"If I get in, then that means that I didn't waste my time on this. It means that I deserve it, it means that our breakup was worth because if it wasn't then...then I just messed up the best thing in my life."

Matías didn't know how important Kaden truly meant to her until now. Sure, he knew she really liked him but he never really understood how far that went. Until now. "I think we should call this a day. Why don't you get some rest, Acacia? Tomorrow we're definitely going somewhere. Anywhere you want to go."

She nodded, "Promise?"

"I promise."

 **–**

When Acacia was asleep, he walked towards the kitchen to get a glass of water. On his way there, he passed by his dad's office and heard that someone was in there. It was Adriel. "Hey."

"What's up?"

He searched the office and it looked like he was cleaning up. There was a big stack of papers and they all looked like they were nicely stacked. All but one, the top one, was opened and he was reading into it. "Do you need anything?" he asked.

He shook his head no. Adriel was just getting ready to leave but he had to show his younger brother something. "Come. I don't think you've heard."

Matías furrowed his eyebrows and walked towards him. He turned to the computer that was playing, it was the news. A woman in a red coat stood just outside the house both Missy and Maya found the body. The reporter spoke:

 _Lauren Watts went missing during the year 1994 at just sixteen. Her disappearance ended in October just two months back when a pair of high school students found her. It has been reported that the place in which she was buried belonged to one of the teachers at that time who had just moved out. At the scene of the crime, it was discovered that she was wrapped in a gray blanket. Another item that was found, was an Abigail Adam's High School keychain with the name of Davis Bayard written on it. Luckily, forensics were able to match the DNA of the keychain to that of the one found on Lauren Watt's bicep. Davis Bayard has now been charged with Lauren's murder which adds to one of just last years. Lauren Watts and Nina Michael were both victims of murder all done by the same person. May they now find the peace they were destined for. Thank you._

Matías couldn't move. He couldn't speak and he couldn't blink. He didn't know how to react or what to do now that he knew who killed Lauren.

"This was filmed just today at 3 am. We told them to do it in secret because we didn't want anyone to hear."

"No one knows about this?" he asked.

"No," Adriel informed. "This will air tomorrow at 5:30, I just thought you deserved to know."

"Maya and Missy deserve to know."

Matías walked out of the office and everything seemed like a blur. He was told by Adriel to keep it a secret and to let them find out when they watch the news the next day, but he wasn't sure he could do that. When he went to sleep, he told himself he wouldn't be the one to tell them. He didn't think he could handle Maya's reaction. Especially Missy's who had already lost someone close to her by the same person.

He had to keep this a secret.

And once again,

he knows something that his friends had so desperately been searching for.

 **Writers Note: Do you guys think the person that is said to be Lauren's killer really did it? If so...then who was sending Maya and Missy those notes? Hmmm...**


	17. Chapter17

**...**

 **Junior Year**

 **Two Days Later**

When news of Bayard murdering Lauren Watts hit, it his hard. Everybody was talking about it and it was broadcasted on some of the biggest news channels on TV. Riley first heard about it when she was with Lucas and she hadn't been without since. Part of her could believe it but the other part of her didn't want to. She didn't want to believe that two innocent people were murdered by the same person.

She called both Maya and Missy but only Maya picked up. They talked and Riley insisted that Maya spend the night many times but she refused, she told her that Katy and Shawn had already talked to her and she was going to sleep in their room.

When they finished talking, Riley turned to Lucas and hugged him. A part of her knew that in some way he would be affected by this. His dad dated Lauren back when they were in high school, but she disappeared the day they were supposed to go on a date. They talked for hours. Neither one of them touched their phones, there wasn't that awkward silence that lingered when there was nothing to talk about, everything went smooth and for the first time, they felt normal.

They felt like two lonely kids talking to each other.

They walked to school together the following day. They smiled, laughed and completely ignored what happened the previous day. Lucas was convinced that this opened a new chapter in their life, that they had somehow grown closer. Time went easy on them last night, he just hoped nothing changed it.

He opened the door for her and just then she looked at him completely stunned. He gestured for her to continue walking and she did. "You look happy."

"We both do," he clarified and admired the way she looked in his sweater. "I was wondering, and...feel free to say no, but...I'd like for you to meet my aunt and uncle."

Riley stopped walking, "Really? Yeah. Yes. I'd love to meet them."

"G-good," he stammered. He wasn't expecting her to say yes. "That's great."

"Oh, I just hope they have pictures of you as a kid. I am dying to lay my hands on those..."

He didn't notice it at first, but people had been staring at them ever since they entered. They weren't like the judging stares Riley has told him about, but more like everyone knew something they didn't.

Riley stopped at her locker and entered her combination. When she opened it, she turned to Lucas, "Why is everybody staring at us?"

He shrugged and just then a girl Lucas had for second period told Riley, "Check Cupid Arrow's Snapchat story."

She proceeded to walk and Riley pulled out her phone.

"Cupid's Arrow?" he asked.

"Yeah. Ever since I started the school paper and added the Week's Must section, people have been posting who and what they want to see happen that week - only this time it's on Snapchat. They're taking credit for something I started but who cares, right?"

He furrowed his brows, she definitely cared.

Her eyes widened and then she faced the screen in his direction. A picture they took together reflected back at him, his eyes trailed up to the writing above it. It read:

 _Week's Must: Riley and Lucas admit they're dating._

She raised her chin to look at his reaction, "Why are you smiling?" she asked him. "We're being bullied."

"We're not," he laughed and placed both his hands on her shoulders, "The entire high school is obsessed with us. Plus, they chose a really good picture."

"Riley," they both turned to the girl who called out to her. She wore a gray top and blue jeans. Lucas remembered her name from the time they were assigned as partners for a class project. "I like your sweater."

"Oh," she looked down at it. "It's not mine, it's Lucas's."

"I know," she said. "I wear my boyfriend's clothes too."

Her eyes widened and Lucas couldn't contain his laughter. She didn't understand how this could be funny to him but a part of her liked that he didn't take things too seriously. "Why is this so funny to you?"

"Because..." he tried to stop laughing but he couldn't. Riley could feel herself smile but she did her best to suppress it, "For once, in a really, really long time, it feels like high school...and not some terrible movie-made life that we've had for months now."

She took a step back from him and smiled, "I need to get to class."

He watched as she continued to walk completely disregarding him. "Hey, where are you going? I'll walk you there."

 **–**

Josh waited just outside Missy's classroom. She had ignored him for a whole day now and he wasn't sure he could handle another round. He forced himself to understand that she needed to be alone and although he didn't like it, he didn't call her or text her. It pained him to know that she was going through something like this and he wasn't there to talk to her or to help her. Before arriving at school, he called Maya and asked if Missy planned on going to school. He was certain she would know that they have become the best of friends who talked almost every day on the phone. Maya told him that she has gone to school but she didn't take her phone.

When the bell rang and students walked out, Josh took a step towards the classroom. He spotted Missy and walked towards her. "Hey," he said and she turned around to look at him. She looked tired and her eyes were red, he could practically feel her warmth from where he stood which was two feet away from her.

Her eyes didn't meet his, "Hi."

He grabbed both her hands and leaned his forehead on her's. "I don't want to argue, I don't wanna fight, I just want to spend this day with you. I want to be there for you, Missy. You're my girlfriend and I want to protect you."

"Let's get out of here," she suggested. "Together."

He nodded and kissed her. He didn't know if they kiss would be reciprocated, but it was. In fact, she kissed him again when he pulled back. "Tonight - at the dance - we're gonna dance, and we're gonna grind on each other. Then...we're going to make out in your car."

He gulped and nodded, "Yes, ma'am."

 **–**

Seth leaned his head back as Maya kissed his neck. She dug her hand from underneath his shirt and pulled him closer. She moved her hair to the side and focused on his ear, he loved it when she did that. He removed his shirt and then stood up, she was still on him and then he leaned her on the bed. He kissed her lips and then began to undo his belt.

"We should skip the dance?" she suggested. "We'll do something else."

He looked at her and furrowed his brows, "What do you mean? We already said yes to Glow. Remember? We were happy because it was the first dance we would go together as boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"There's always formal," she reminded. "We already know what every couple does after the dance. They have sex, we can literally do that right here."

His hands went to his belt and instead of removing it, he readjusted it. "I'm going to the dance."

Maya was surprised at the way he said that. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"That I'm going to the dance," he clarified and she got off her bed.

"Alone."

He was in the middle of putting on his shirt when she said that. He froze for a bit and then resumed, "C'mon, Maya."

"No," she shook her head and looked at him. "Last night my parents said they were thinking about postponing their wedding. I should talk them out of it. But, we'll go to formal, I promise."

He nodded and gave her a kiss. "Bet you already know what we're doing after formal."

"Oh," she lost feeling in her legs. "I like the sound of that."

He winked at her before walking away.

 **–**

Anthony walked towards the lounge he and Matías used to hang out in almost every day. It's where they talked about Nina most of the time back when they were sophomores. He looked around to see if Matías was there, but he wasn't. There was hardly anyone. He opened the door at the end of the room to see if he was in there, but he wasn't. Giving up and accepting that they weren't going to hang out, he hung his head. When he turned around, he didn't expect to see James. He thought nothing would make his day worse but apparently, there was. His jaw immediately tightened and he could feel his hands ball.

"It's you," James scoffed. They had never been able to see each other eye to eye. Both James and Anthony never really had anything against the other up until a couple of weeks before Nina's death. Something happened and then something else happened and that shaped the course they are now going through.

That's exactly how high school was.

Anthony took a deep, heavy sigh. He swore that if he had the guts to punch him, he would. "What do you want?"

"Nothing. You're in my way."

He moved aside and when he did so, James muttered something. "Why don't you ask you Matías what we're doing tonight. It's certainly not tutoring in case your wondering."

The door behind him closed and he turned around. His hands went to the knob and he wanted to push the door open and throw James across the room. What he would do if he could.

When he walked out the room and into another, empty room he noticed Matías. He was on the phone with someone but when he noticed him, he hung up. "Good, you're here. I was about to call you as soon as - "

He stopped when Anthony scoffed. He began to notice that he seemed impatient and annoyed at someone.

"What's going on?"

He gently rolled his eyes and turned his back on him, "I exist to you now."

Matías nervously laughed. He didn't know what to say mainly because he's never really seen Anthony like this. He was angry and it looked like he was angry with him. "I - I don't understand did I do something?"

Anthony turned around, "Why are you talking to me? Shouldn't you be somewhere with your best friend?"

Matías was genuinely confused, "What are you talking about?"

"James," he clarified. Annoyed that he wasn't understanding him.

"I'm his tutor - "

"I don't believe that," Anthony's voice was deeper and louder than anything he had ever said, "Because if he's more important than me - "

"How petty do you sound, really?" Matías had finally gotten upset with him. As soon as he finished talking, he noticed that Anthony's fists were clenching. "Why are you acting like this?"

He didn't say anything. He looked away and then walked towards the door.

"Hey! I'm talking to you -" Matías shouted at him.

"Do not!" he yelled back. "Don't pretend to be interested because you made up your mind already."

"What are you talking about?! Can you please just tell me?!"

"James!" he yelled. "James!" his name hung for a few seconds as Anthony collected his breath. He's been your friend for not even a month and now he's more important than everybody. No, I said that wrong, he's more important than just me. Because these past days you've been ignoring me. Again! And I'm not gonna put up with it anymore. So I'm only going to ask you this one time. One final time. Who's it going to be?" he asked. "Him or me?"

 **–**

Riley finished writing the paper for tomorrow's events. She was excited for the dance tonight and then Winter Week which fell just a couple of days after. Her favorite event was coming up and she couldn't wait. Winter Week was the only week in school that she looked forward too because everyone participated. For each day you had to dress up and Riley and Lucas already agreed to be Santa on the same day. Technically they agreed that she would be Santa and he would be Mrs. Clause. She thought it'd be cute if he dressed up as the wife.

She rounded the corner and when she spotted Geb, she froze.

She didn't know if she should continue walking or not because if she did, she would have to walk past him. If she walked the other way, she would need to walk around the entire building and she wasn't sure she wanted to do that.

Riley took deep breaths and continued to walk. As she approached him, she noticed that he was staring at something. It was a flyer that was stapled to the wall.

"It...it starts at six," she informed and then he turned to look at her. When their eyes met, he smiled. "It ends at eight, in case you were wondering."

Geb looked back at the flyer. He planned on bringing his younger brother, Eden, to school later on so they could build gingerbread houses. It was unclear at what time it began since the time wasn't posted on the flyer.

"Thank you," he nodded.

She continue to walk but then he called out to her. "Yeah?"

"It's nice seeing you."

 **–**

Glow! was the only dance at school that was guaranteed to be sold out. This was for two huge reasons. 1) the dance was held in the school hallways and 2) students could grind on each other because of the tight hallways. That didn't necessarily mean they were allowed to but they still did it anyways. It also made it harder for teachers to catch students doing something that would get them in trouble since the lights were turned off.

Riley had made her way in and waited for the rest of her friends. She had already been told by Maya that she wasn't going which didn't make the dance seem fun anymore.

After being convinced by her classmates, she decided to go and spend the night with them. She and Lucas never got the chance to talk about the dance especially since they knew what these dances were about and after their _almost kiss_ this didn't some like something they should attend together. Riley looked up from her phone and observed her surroundings, she was surrounded by students. The dark blue, red and purple lights illuminated the hallway one color at a time which made the dance better. The only thing she could see were the glow in the dark bracelets that students had on.

She felt a tap on her shoulder and when she turned to the person, she smiled.

"I didn't think you would come."

Lucas looked at her. It was hard to since the lights were low but it was enough that he could tell she wore makeup. Her hair was curled and she wore a dress. "I didn't think you would come either."

They waited in silence for a couple of minutes before, Riley looked at him. They smiled at each other but she wasn't necessarily smiling for the same reason he was. She was smiling because he looked good.

Too good.

"The dance was more full last year," she joked. She had never seen so many people in one place.

"We should get closer to the music," he said and extended her hand for her to take. She looked at him before she took it. _Did he want to dance?_ She thought. When their hands touched Riley felt a rush of energy through her, it gave her some confidence she didn't know she had inside. They settled in an area that had space and their eyes met.

"We're finally regular high school students," he said.

She nodded.

This was finally a night they could live through just like any other student would. There was no case involved, no police, no crime, no death, no nothing. They grew comfortable with each other the more and more they danced. Eventually her back was pressed against his chest.

Cold, 'cause she has been here before  
She doesn't cry anymore, no looking back  
No, she doesn't go to the bar  
Too many lovers she's scarred, and they want her back

Riley ran a hand through her hair and grabbed his hands from either side of her. She was too in the moment that she didn't realize how closer they were getting with other. They didn't mind, neither of them did and they were sure they didn't want it to stop. She had always been shy, she had never done this before and now that she was she liked it.

She loves control, she wants it her way  
And there's no way she'll ever stay unless you give it up (give it up)  
She loves control, she wants it her way  
And all it takes is just one taste, you wanna give it up (give it up)

The lights syncopated with the beat of the song. She felt his lips brushing against her ears and then she moved her head to the other side. When they stared at each other there was nothing that seemed to stop them.

Bold, you know she lives for the thrill  
You know she lusts for the kill, so they won't come back  
No, no, no, no, no, no, no  
Don't, don't you try taming the storm  
Don't say you haven't been warned (oh)  
'Cause she won't like that, like that

She finally turned to look at him. They're lips were inches apart and nothing could stop them, but for some reason something did. She turned away from him but they were still touching. They were close now, very, very close and Riley only smiled. Her back now faced him and his hands were wrapped around her.

Say what you want  
But the way she kills you makes you feel alive  
And you know that it feels right

She loves control, she wants it her way  
And there's no way she'll ever stay unless you give it up  
She loves control, she wants it her way  
And all it takes is just one taste, you wanna give it up (give it up, give it up for love)

Lucas' hands lowered down to her waist before their hands laced with other. She knew they would never talk about this night and she knew they would never regret it either. She just hoped it wouldn't change their friendship. Riley noticed a couple of stares, it wasn't the typical judgmental look she was used to receiving. It was a different type of look.

It was a smile.

Like they were happy that she was finally doing something like this with Lucas. She ignored them but when she noticed Kori was staring, she winked at her. She had never done anything like that. Riley didn't know if it was the song or that she had finally gotten the courage to stick up to her, but she felt great when she did it.

Lucas had changed her in a way she loved. He wasn't a bad influence and he wasn't a horrible person, but in a way he has made her feel free and different by being so kind and down to earth.

This was one of those nights she would remember. The time she danced in a way that she never thought she would.

 **–**

The next day Riley walked into school. She waited by her locker for Lucas but Maya had beat him to it. She was staring into her phone and then she looked up at Riley. She looked worried.

"What happened?"

"N-nothing," she shook her head. "Umm...listen, we should go."

"Where?"

"Anywhere," she said and grabbed both of her hands.

Riley raised a brow and looked at her blonde friend. Maya looked like she was hiding something and she didn't want to tell her. "What's going on?"

Maya took a deep breath and then pulled out her phone. She put her password in before she turned the screen toward Riley.

It took Riley a while to realize that she was staring at a picture of her. She was smiling in the picture. When her eyes trailed to the writing above, she grabbed the screen from Maya and brought it closer to her.

Best Face, it read.

"There's a list going around," Maya informed. "And you're on it."

"Who posted this?" she asked as she stared blankly into the screen.

Maya hesitated. "That's not important."

"Who posted it?" her voice was stern. "Who posted the picture Maya?" When the blonde didn't answer she clicked out of the picture and immediately saw who had posted it.

"It was Seth," Maya finally answered.

She handed the phone back to her and gulped, "...and where the fuck is he?"

* * *

 **Writers Note: Guys, I am getting close to finishing this story. You guys are a few weeks away but aghhhhh! I can't wait.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Writers Note: A lot happens in this chapter and I can't wait for you to read it. I took insipartion from Riverdale. It's funny because when I included this plot line into my story, Riverdale was in it's third episode of it's first season. It's just so crazy to me. Thank you guys so much for reading hope you enjoy.**

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

Riley's hand trailed down to the handle of the door. She took a deep sigh and regained her posture, she ran a hand through her hair and then, with one push, she opened the door and walked into the boy's locker room.

She was immediately faced with dozens of shirtless boys roaming the locker rooms. Some were changing, others were wrapped in towels as they were ready to get into the showers and some of them blankly stared back at her.

It took a minute for them to realize she was in there. Her right foot stepped in first and the door behind her closed.

As she made her way through, she spotted him. He was searching for something in his backpack but when his eyes found her, his face grew stern.

It reminded Riley of the face he made when he was yelled at by his teacher in the first grade.

"Take it down," she commanded when they were closer to each other.

For a second, a split second, Riley thought she had seen regret in his face. But that had changed when he looked around the room. Everybody was staring at them. "No," Seth responded.

His words didn't surprise her. What did surprise her was that she had completely forgotten the person he was before he dated Maya. "You're disgusting and you're an asshole."

"Hey," he shrugged and spread his arms a bit, "That's your type, ain't I right?"

The people around them oohed.

Riley was in no mood to exchange insults with him. But she was tired of letting the guys treat the girls like this. She had stayed quiet because she knew no one would listen to her, but that changed in a matter of one year. She stepped closer to him, making sure, he heard her right. "Listen, this little bitchy attitude you pretend to have just because your guys are here is not working on me. You're going to take this video down before things get ugly...and believe me when I say this...it will."

He smirked, "Game on."

She stared him down before he walked away from her. She didn't feel defeated but she did feel different. Just when she thought things were finally starting to get better, it all started to fall apart.

 _Game on_ , he said.

And so it will...

 **–**

Lucas waited by his locker and looked at the photos his friend had posted of the dance. He and Riley were seen in one of them. His arms were wrapped around her and she was smiling towards the camera.

He looked up at his locker in order to close it but then he realized Kori was standing right beside him. He was confused at first but then when she gave her usual smirk, he knew something had happened.

"Is it true?" she asked him as she crossed her arms and pursed her lips.

"What?" he asked and looked back at her two friends. They always followed her everywhere but hardly spoke.

She started to laugh and Lucas didn't know what was going on.

"You don't know," she said with the biggest smile on her face. "The Texan has no clue." Her hand curled a strand of hair before she finally confessed the truth to him, "Your girlfriend won best face."

Lucas raised a brow not knowing what that meant. Wanting to know if Riley was okay, he walked towards her locker. As he walked towards her, he noticed that people were staring in her direction and they seemed to be laughing at her.

"Riley," he said and she turned to him. When she did, she sighed and then gave him a hug. "Hey, what's going on?"

"It's Seth," she confessed. "He posted a stupid picture and then put my name on a stupid list and now everybody is laughing at me," she wiped the tears from her eyes and was grateful when the hallway was empty.

"What picture?" he asked.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. It took her a few seconds to find the picture and when she did, she aimed the screen in his direction. He took it from her and their hands touched for a split second. Riley looked happy in the photo, she was smiling in the picture and he didn't know why everybody was making fun of her.

"I don't get it."

"Wh- you don't see yourself?" she questioned but that only made him more confused.

"What do you mean?"

She aimed the screen at him again, "Take one, good, hard look at it."

He did. Riley still had the same smile, he realized now that the hands around her were his. "You look happy."

"When I look at it I see an innocent girl having a good time," she informed Lucas, "What everyone sees is completely different. They see what I must look like when I have a dick inside me...all because of a stupid list that my name is on."

He could see it now.

It didn't help that he was in the picture as well. The way she was positioned and the vein on his arm appeared to make it seem he had pressure on her as if he were pulling her closer to him.

He understood now that the picture was sexualized to make her look bad.

"I didn't know," he confessed. "I'm sorry."

Her eyes started to tear up, "I'm not going to let him win. I can't let him win."

He nodded, "We wouldn't want you to."

 **–**

Maya walked out of her class and looked around her. She didn't know why she wasn't being stared at like Riley was. She was dating the guy that did that to her best friend and she hated it because she didn't want to confront him.

That's what she had been trying to do.

It was different because normally she would've been the one that confronted him with Riley. She would've forced him to delete it and put an end to the rumors but something stopped her, she didn't know but she just couldn't see him right now.

She was really disappointed in him.

As she made a left she ran into Anthony. They had the same friends for a year now but they never actually talked. That was up until now.

"I know where they keep it," he said. He looked dejected and guilty of something, but Maya wasn't sure of what.

As she looked at him, she quickly realized that he was talking about the list the boys kept.

"It's a notebook," Anthony continued as he stared at the blonde. Talking to her felt unsual because he didn't expect the first time they'd ever speak would be about a stupid list. "I can show Riley where it's at."

She looked around her before she stood closer to him, "Why are you doing this?"

"Because Riley's my friend, and what they are doing is wrong."

She nodded at him before walking off.

 **–**

Riley walked out of the stall in the girls bathroom and began to wash her hands. She looked up at the mirror in front of her and saw the tears trailing down her eyes, she looked tired and the fact that she had been crying did not help. As the soap came to contact with her hands, a girl had ran in the bathroom and locked herself in the stall.

Riley didn't think the girl had seen her.

She finished washing her hands and as soon as she dried them she approached the stall. "Hey, are you okay?"

The girl stopped crying when she heard Riley. It was like she didn't want anyone to hear her, "I-I'm fine. I just - I'm constipated."

This managed to make her smile, "Do you need someone to talk to?"

The girl unlocked the stall and stepped out. When she did her head was looking down, "I'm fine, really."

Riley knew something was wrong. There must've been a reason she was sad. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Mhm," she nodded.

"Can you turn around and tell me that?"

She waited a few seconds before she turned around. When their eyes met the first thing Riley noticed was her skin. She was covered in acne and she had a birthmark on the side of her cheek. Riley had never seen her before and she figured that she was a freshman, maybe a new student.

"I'm Riley," she extended her hand and waited.

"You don't need to do that," she said.

"I don't understand," Riley told her. She was confused.

"You don't need to be nice to me. No one is."

"Why were you crying?" Riley asked. There must've been a reason and she wanted to know.

"There's this list - " she began and then Riley nodded. "You know about it?"

"I do. It's why I'm here...avoiding everybody."

"Would you mind company? I won Worst Face and I can't make it down the hall without been laughed at. They see me as some kind of freak because of the way I look."

"I hate that they do stupid things like this. They listed me as Best Face and now I've been getting texts from stupid boys saying to meet them in places I've never been to for a 'good time'," Riley informed.

"Boy's are disgusting. So glad I'm gay," she informed.

Riley smiled. She was finally finding happiness with a stranger, "What's your name?"

"Patty," she finally extended her hand and when Riley touched hers, she smiled.

Not long after, her phone chimed and she pulled it out.

 **Maya Hart (1):**

 **I know how you can stop this.**

 **–**

"What the hell?" Seth asked as he pushed the door to Geb's room open. He knew he was being loud and had possibly broken his door, but he didn't care. He was angry at him and was clearly showing it. He never agreed to do what he did to Riley.

"Come in," he joked.

"Why'd you do it?" Seth questioned. "Why'd you post the picture on my account?"

"Because," he began as he put a spoonful of Yoplait in his mouth. "You took the picture."

"Only because you told me to. Now Maya's mad at me, she hasn't broken up with me yet but she will soon enough. If you don't fix it, Geb I will tell Riley you ranked her."

His face grew stern, "If you do I'll let the whole school know what was on those flash drives we buried. I saved a copy of them you know."

"There's stuff in those flash drives about you too."

"They'll believe what they see and what they see will only be about you."

"All right then," he nodded, but it was obvious he was still angry. He slammed the door even harder on his way out. When he reached the front door it was slammed so hard that even Geb heard it from upstairs.

He knew how to control him. And there was nothing that would ruin his friendship with Riley. He wouldn't let him.

 **–**

The school halls were dark and Riley didn't really like the dark. She waited for Anthony who told her to meet him here, but after moments of waiting she wasn't sure she could any longer. She was alone and she swore she thought she heard something. As she waited, she pulled out her phone and re-read her conversation with Lucas. It never failed to make her smile.

She noticed a light in the hallway in front of her and when she looked up she saw Anthony. "Sorry I'm late, I - uh got held up."

Riley reached into her backpack and pulled out her own flashlight, "Doesn't matter. Just show me where the book is."

When they walked towards it neither one of them could handle the silence. They considered each other friends but they never really talked. The only thing they had in common was their friendship with Matías.

"I'm really sorry you got put into that list," Anthony began.

She gave him a faint smile, "How could you tolerate it? The way they grade us girls like we're some object...it's gross and disgusting."

"I didn't know about the list."

"Really?"

He nodded. "No. When I found out about it - thanks to you - I overheard one of Seth's friend talking. He revealed where they hid the stupid thing and that's when I talked to Maya."

"Thank you," she told him. "Thank you for helping me."

"What are friends for, right?" They continued to walk and Anthony felt the need to bring something up, "I know there's a journal going around. Where girls write about their sexual encounters with the guys in this school. Yeah, I knew about that..."

Riley knew it was basically the same thing but it was different to an extent, "The only difference is that we keep it a secret. We also keep the guy's name out of it. You guys tell the whole school about who you guys slept with and if she had a big ass or big boobs." The silence this created only worsened the situation. Neither one of them wanted it to feel like they somehow disagreed with other. She turned to look at him and when their eyes met, Riley decided to ask him something. "I haven't been seeing you and Matías hang out. Is everything all right?"

He didn't say anything at first but then something changed his mind. "We're sort of arguing right now."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

He smiled, "He...um...has a tendency of ignoring me and I didn't like it." Although that wasn't completely true, it was the main reason. Matías tended to ignore people and not realize he was doing something wrong because of it. When Anthony confronted him, he only made it worse.

"He does that sometimes," Riley agreed. "Heck he's doing it right now. But at the end of the day, I know that he's my friend. He'll always be."

Anthony played with his flashlight. He didn't want to believe that's what their friendship would be like. It would be terrible if they talked for some days but then completely ignored each other the next.

He just wished they could talk again.

Be normal.

He didn't know it but he wanted the friendship they had when they were surrounded by chaos.

"Here," he aimed the flashlight at what looked like a trophy case. "That's where they keep it."

"Smart," Riley had to admit. She would've never expected it to be hidden there, surrounded by all their trophies. "But how do we open it?"

Anthony reached into his back pocket and pulled out a key, "I stole it from Seth."

As he inserted the key into the locker and open it, Riley put her hand in and pulled out the notebook. When she opened it, she flipped to the most recent page. She ran her finger through the names and whens he found her name, she saw he number next to it.

Riley Matthews 9.7 - Geb Carter

Patty Mason 1.2 - Everyone

"Why's Geb's name there?" Riley asked with furrowed brows.

Anthony's eyes widened. When he turned to look at Riley, he saw that she was starting to answer her own question.

"He ranked me," she concluded. A tear ran down her cheek and she was quick to wipe it off. As she searched the notebook she noticed something. She noticed Missy's name. "Best in Bed?" she questioned.

"Does it say who wrote it?"

"No," she answered. "But the handwriting...it looks a lot like..." she sighed once more. "It looks like Geb's." she stayed quiet and continued to read. She flipped through more of the pages and then she found her name once again. She ran her finger through it. "It says Riley Matthews 10 points - Geb Carter."

She slammed the notebook shut and cursed under her breath.

"I should've known. Did he do this from the beginning? That day that he approached me by my locker and asked me out, was that because of this stupid book?"

Anthony shrugged, "I have no idea."

"He thought that if he could get with someone smart and shy like me then he would be a legend to these stupid cliche...jerks." Riley felt tempted to rip the notebook in half. She wanted to burn it and to get rid of it but she couldn't because she needed it. "If I show this to people, Josh will find out that Missy and Geb slept with each other. He'll break up with her and ..." she took a deep breath. "it'll be my fault. They're both my friends..."

"What are you going to do?"

"I can't protect Missy from a stupid mistake she made in the past," Riley admitted. "We're doing this."

 **–**

The night was dark and windy. The snow was a couple inches above the ground and hard to walk on, but it didn't stop Seth from agreeing to meet with Maya. He had already laid out everything in his head. He would tell her the truth and he was going to tell her that he never meant for this to happen. He was still debating about throwing Geb in the middle of the road and confessing the reason the picture was posted on his account. It was too late because by the time he could fully think about it, he had seen Maya approaching him.

She wore a coat and her hands were tucked into it. She didn't look sad like he expected her to be which changed the way he felt. It immediately made him less confident and more worried.

"Hey," he stood up. "I'm glad you came."

She could only nod.

"Listen, I never meant for the picture to leak. I-I-I only took it because Geb wanted to know where Riley was, he asked for a picture and I took it and I sent it to him. The rest was him and I only went with it because - "

"...because people thought it was funny?" Maya suggested, "Because all the attention was on you?"

"No, Maya that's not - "

"Then what is it? Why did you do it? Did you think that I wouldn't do anything about it? What was it, Seth?" With every word she said, the other seemed angrier than the one before it.

"I don't know," he confessed. "I just..." he stopped and stared at the night sky. "I just wasn't thinking."

"Yeah, you weren't. You really fucked up," she let that hang in the air before she continued, "We were doing so well. I was happy, we were happy...we were perfect," she sadly admitted. "I guess I should've known better."

"Maya," his words left him. He couldn't finish her name without his voice breaking. "I messed up, I know. I'll never do it again, I learned my lesson but that doesn't mean we need to break up..."

She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and sniffled, "That's the thing, Seth. It's not that you did it once...it's that you've done it before. I thought that I was in a relationship with someone I knew. I thought that you were better than that - that you stopped doing the stupid shit you did before me...but I was so wrong. That's what sucked about dating you...I never knew if you changed or not."

"How stupid of me to think you liked me for me..." he confessed and then wiped a tear away.

Maya had seen that he had tried to keep himself from crying. He didn't look at her when she talked and when he thought she had turned to look somewhere else, he'd stare at her only to look away before their eyes met. "You're right."

He snorted and then sighed, "So that's it? We're done?"

Maya kept a straight face. She really didn't want to cry because she wanted to be angry with him, she wanted to hate him but she couldn't. She just couldn't accept what he'd done and still be with him for it. "We were done as soon as you took that picture..."

Their eyes met and for a split second, she took pride in his reaction. His eyes began to water and he was completely surprised by what she had said. She needed him to know that she wasn't going to forgive him for what he had done. For being so stupid and for not thinking straight. She was angry at him for ruining their perfect relationship. She was angry at him because she really needed him and he betrayed her by humiliating her best friend.

As she walked away she left the memories behind them. The only thing she knew she would remember him was the mistake he had made.

That one stupid mistake that ended the best thing in his life.

–

Riley smiled at her computer. She knew she had gotten the last word.

When the thought of publishing the guy's list came to mind, she was hesitant. There was just something that made her not want to do it. Looking back at it now, she was glad she did.

After she hit enter and published the picture of all the girl's ranking's and the guy who ranked them, she closed her laptop and walked outside the room. Seeing everyone's phone ding and then seeing their reaction was priceless to her.

She knew exactly the chaos that would surface if she hit enter.

But she still chose to continue.

She wanted to taste revenge. For two years she had been judged and stared at like she had done something terrible. She never has.

She dated someone at the wrong time and that's when it all started.

Walking by everyone and seeing their reactions made her regret her decision, but it wasn't enough so that'd she'd change course and walk back to the room where she published the picture.

She wasn't going to delete it.

Riley rounded the corner and adjusted her bag. It's like everything was in slow motion to her. She could see the girls reaction.

One, in particular, caught her off guard.

A girl she had only talked to once had seen her ranking. She wasn't too happy with it and unfortunately for the guy who had ranked her was standing just feet from her. She approached him and as soon as he was able to turn around she had slapped him.

Girls around her starting cheering her on and the guy could only run off.

Riley didn't even think he knew why he got slapped.

She wished it could end there.

The more she walked the worse it got.

Couples were arguing and some girls started crying.

It was getting harder and harder for Riley to accept what she had done.

She continued walking but the more she walked the more she got a taste of what was going on. She made many turns and dodged many arguments. A moment of relief washed over her when she spotted Maya. Breathing slowly, she approached the blonde.

"Riley, what did you do?" Maya asked when she saw Riley. "Did you post it?"

She nodded as she entered her pin. "They had a right to know what guys thought of them."

Maya wanted to express her change of mind. Seeing everyone's reaction made her realize that but it was already too late. She was about to say something but she had spotted Seth. He walked in completely confused. Eyeing the couple that was arguing and the girls that were crying. He continued to walk and grew more confused.

Just then, a girl had approached him. She threw her coffee at him. It took him a while to feel the hot coffee burn his skin and when he did, he cursed aloud. He watched the girl walk off and just then another girl had approached him.

Soon enough he had to run off.

Seeing this made Riley smirk.

"Geez..." Maya said. "That was harsh."

"He should know better," Riley said and closed her locker before she walked off to class.

* * *

 **Writers Note: Thank you guys for reading. As I am writing this I genuinely don't know how many chapters I am going to be adding to this story. It's lengthy and the chapters are pretty long. But tell me what you guys think about this chapter. Did Riley do the right thing?**


	19. Chapter 19

**Writers Note: This is a short chapter but you get a glimpse of the shooting at the end. More will be written and thank you guys so much for reading. I finshed writing this chapter in March and I don't know when this will be out but probably in a month.**

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

Riley took notes in class and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She was aware of the eyes on her and the slow judgment slowly surfacing. She knew deep down she had done the right thing and because of that people would not like her for it. She made a lot of enemies in just one night and she didn't want to think of the many more she would make the next day. She turned to her right and saw someone she rarely talked to. He didn't look back at her.

To her left was Sally.

Sally was a girl she didn't get along with because of Nina. It was sad at first but through time Riley started to dislike her as well. Nina brainwashed most of her friends into hating Riley, she made up lies and would go on and on about how she could steal the guy they liked.

Because of that, they didn't talk to her.

"Riley Matthews," her teacher called out. Her attention turned from Sally over to the teacher. She was standing in front of the class explaining something she did not know. "You were called into the principal's office."

"Oh," she picked up her things and walked out of class.

When she made it to the office she told the lady at the front desk she had arrived and the lady nodded and told her to sit near his office. When she turned, the anger she once felt had returned.

Seth was seated there too.

But something stopped the anger she was feeling. Instead, it made her smile.

And that was the red mark on his cheek, the food on his clothes, and the look on his face. He wasn't angry nor upset, he was ashamed and embarrassed. She took a seat on a chair that was one seat away from him. She couldn't pass the opportunity to make fun of him.

"Game on," she taunted. He looked at her then looked away, his jaw was clenched and he took rapid breaths as if he was trying to control himself.

He kept quiet.

"You're a real piece of shit, you know that. I hope he called you in here to expel you."

"Expel me?" he finally spoke and looked at her. "My parents have been giving this school checks since my freshman year. My mom's head of the parent board and works with the founders of this school - she practically signs Mr. Hyde's checks...what makes you think they'll expel me?"

She clenched her jaw, "You privileged asshole."

As soon as the words came out, Mr. Hyde stepped out of his office and looked at the both of them. He already knew what would soon happen. He gestured for the both of them to enter and they did. A few minutes later the both of them were arguing. They were trying to explain their stories but they didn't want to let the other speak. They wanted to get their point across but something told them that he wouldn't be able to handle their situation.

"It's not right to go out an embarrass someone like that especially with a sexualized image of an innocent girl having a good time," Riley argued.

"No, no, no, Riley. Don't make yourself out to be the victim here - "

"The victim?" she questioned. They both sat on chairs that were right next to each other. "If that word doesn't get the message across then how about 'bullied' because that's exactly what I was, Seth."

He pinched his nose, "That's who you make yourself out to be, we all know damn well that persona is fake - "

"Fake?" she laughed. "Please, how pathetic can your argument get? Mr. Hyde, I suggest you expel him because if you don't then that means you tolerate his actions."

He looked at them both and blinked. He didn't know what to say or how to handle whatever it was that was going on. "The honor board will be taking this one."

 **–**

Most of the students in the honor board were people she did not know and did not want to talk to. She knew all of them didn't like her because of Nina and Geb. The ones who got the seat on the board were the ones who were doing the bullying in and out of school. The irony was that they were the ones who were supposed to be the good students. Riley was sitting on a chair again and Seth was right next to her. She was starting to get frustrated especially since she hated the smell of his cologne.

By the time the meeting had started, Seth was given a new set of clothes. Even with the humility he just underwent, nothing could wipe that smirk off his face.

"The emergency meeting has begun, recording secretary is Missy Bradford, I am the president, all members present," Matt spoke. Riley watched as he handed out the papers to people sitting alongside him. As the papers were passed through, Riley noticed that one of the seats were empty. "We're missing someone," Missy spoke. "Where's - ?"

"Sorry," Matías said as he walked into the room. He had his backpack in his hand and frequently apologized as he made his way towards his seat. When he sat down he looked at the two people sitting in front of them and when he noticed Riley, his eyes widened.

They were both confused to be seeing each other.

He looked down at the paper that was being set in front of them, and then his eyes went up to meet hers.

What did you do, he mouthed the words.

"Names?" the president spoke.

"Riley Matthews," Riley said.

"Seth Carrion."

"Okay," Matthew spoke, "This seems pretty straightforward Seth, you shouldn't have done what you did."

"She's the one that made it public," he defended himself.

"No," Missy cut in. "You did when you publicly humiliated her and released a photo that was completely sexualized."

"She shouldn't have cheated..."

"Cheated," Riley cut in. "I did not cheat. Geb and I weren't together. And even if it was cheating that doesn't justify what you did, you've done so much worse."

"That does not matter we are focusing on what was done now. Becuase of you I got food thrown at - "

"Because of you, people think I'm a slut. It wasn't until I had found that book of yours or of your stupid friends that the girls in our school finally found out how such jerks you are."

"All right," Missy cut in to try and calm them down. She could see that they were starting to get out of hand.

"They realize how such jerks we are and they result to bullying - "

"Oh please," Riley chuckled in order to offend him. "The only bully in this room is you. And because of it, Maya dumped your pathetic ass - "

"That's enough," Matt spoke and the room was quiet. "This case doesn't need to reach out any further than it already has. And because of it, we think it's best that Riley is banned from writing the school's e-newspaper."

"What?" she questioned.

"That's so unfair," Matías chimed in.

"And..."

"And Seth is suspended from playing sports all throughout this year and mid next year," Missy finished. She liked that she had managed to completely catch Seth off guard.

"You can't do that," he spoke but was cut off by Riley who was arguing about her punishment.

"That's my senior project, it one of the most successful things this school has done in five years - "

"How will I get any scholarships if I can't play a sport?" Seth questioned.

"Have your mom write you a check," Riley taunted.

"Enough," the honor board administrator spoke. She had never seen such intense arguing.

"Riley defended herself and she used the paper to get the word out," Matías told Matt. "If anyone should be punished, if not, expelled is Seth."

"Decision is final," Matt spoke and stood from his chair. The rest of the members followed.

 **–**

Acacia wrote on her notebook. She was sitting on the lunch table with her friend and she needed to catch up on some of the work she was missing in class. Ever since she had been practicing non stop she had been falling behind in her classes, but her grades were still A's and B's. As she wrote on her notebook she heard her friend Monse call to her, "Hey, are you exicted? Your recital is in like two weeks."

"Less than two weeks," she confirmed and the excitement nearly ate her. "It feels so surreal. I mean, I can't breathe."

Her friend laughed but something stopped Acacia. Monse followed her gaze and that's when she noticed Kaden...and his new girlfriend. She wouldn't have stared at them for any longer if it hand't had been for the way Kaden removed his hand from the girls grip. She noticed that his eyes were on Acacia's when he did this. "Did you see that?" When she turned around Acacia was already writing on her notes, "You didn't see that?"

"I saw him. I saw her. I see that they're happy."

The way she said that broke Monse's heart. "Are you sure you're okay? Becuase if I'm honest I feel like he still likes you."

"I don't care, Monse. I-I have my own things to worry about and I am quite happy without him."

Monse didn't buy it so instead she changed the subject. "Do you know what you're gonna wear?"

"I have an idea but my parents are going to take me shopping soon. As for the makeup, I planned on asking my brothers friend. Her name is Maya and she is an absolute miracle worker when she does makeup."

She resumed with her notes but once again she was left with the thought of Kaden. She was still sad over their breakup, but she had already made up her mind that she wouldn't be hurt by him.

So she wouldn't let herself.

 **–**

In between passing periods, Riley decided that she needed some time to think things through. She walked to a lounge and let her feelings go. She did this because she knew nobody would be there.

She had never felt baffled. She couldn't believe she had lost permission to continue with the newspaper after she had worked so hard for it. Her hands touched the knob on the door to enter the lounge and once the door swung open her eyes met a pair she did not want to see. She froze for a second hardly believing she had seen him so soon.

Geb stood up from his seat and walked to her. He couldn't let her walk away this time so he grabbed onto her hand and pulled her back. "Please talk to me," he told her and she didn't look at him. The fact that she had let him touch her gave him enough hope to let him know he could make things better.

"How could you?" her voice was hoarse. "I can't believe you, Geb. I thought you were better, but once again you had to show me how stupid I was, didn't you?"

He shook his head no. "I'm sorry. Okay, Riley, I swear this time I mean it - " He mentally hit himself as soon as he said that. The look on her face made him feel stupid and loss of hope. "That's not what I mean. I mean that this time I will be better. Just please forgive me, Riley. I swear I can fix this. I'll tell the board it was me. I'll let them know that Seth took no part in this I will even take the blame for him."

"That won't help," she pushed him back because he was getting too close to her. "You think that by taking the blame for everything will make it better? You can't just put a band-aid on everything, Geb," she cried. "You're a mistake," she deadpanned. "I should've said no that second time."

"Riley," he called for her. "How-how can I make this better? What can I do so that you won't be mad at me?"

"You can leave me the hell alone," she answered him. "You can never talk to me again because this time I mean it Geb, I am done with you. For good."

"Please," he held onto her hand and this time she did not react so nicely.

"Do not touch me," she told him. "When you said those things about me you intentionally lost the best thing you had...and that was me. Because you don't realize that you hurt me."

Their eyes met and she could see the tears trying to build up in his eyes. She didn't want to walk away until she had known he shed a tear. "Your name spelled backward says beg. No wonder it suits you so much."

 **–**

Anthony heard the late bell ring and sighed. He just wasn't in the mood to care anymore. Ever since his fight with Matías he had feeling guilty. He hated to admit that the guilt was eating him and he felt the need to apologize. As he washed his hand on the bathroom sink, he heard the door open and he looked up to the mirror in order to see who had walked in.

It was James.

Anthony could hear his sigh from across the bathroom. "All right, what is it?" he asked and looked back at him.

"No, it's just the fact that everywhere I've been with Matías, you just magically find a way to pop out from thin air," he said. "What's your problem?"

"My problem?" Anthony asked. "You're my problem and you've made it perfectly clear that you don't like me."

"Anthony you know damn well why I don't like you," he snapped. "That night...you and Mason. The way you left him and how he had to go to the hospital."

He clenched his jaw, "Matías doesn't need to know about that."

"He might not, but it would be a shame if he were to find out."

Anthony could feel his hands ball, he wanted to hit someone and he felt a rush of energy running through his veins. The thought of Matías finding out about what he had done terrified him. He took a deep breath and turned to the mirror, he looked at his reflection and for the first time he could see anger.

 **–**

Matías walked towards the bathroom after asking his teacher for permission. He needed some time away from class especially after everything he had just been through and he felt the bathroom was a good place to go for a quick break.

He hated to admit it but he felt like apologizing to Anthony. He was never the person to do that, but if it meant losing his best friend then he would do it. Before he opened the door to the bathroom, he heard a loud thump. Furrowing his eyes, he opened the door and his eyes widened.

"Oh my God," he whispered.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing. It took him a while to finally gather an understanding of it was that was happening and then everything was clear to him.

Anthony stood with tears in his eyes, he wanted to say something but he just didn't know what. "I-I-I-I don't ... I didn't mean it."

Below Anthony's foot was someone laid out on the floor. And by the corner of their head, ran red blood and spread all throughout the bathroom floor.

"It was an accident..."

 **1 Month Later...**

Riley closed her eyes. She had never heard a silence so still that she could hear the electricity running in the room. Whoever it was standing outside the janitors room had a complete advantage.

The after sound of a gun being fired was still loud and she could hear the bullets fall to the ground.

Then everything froze.

Riley let out a sigh of relief as soon as she heard the person walk away. As soon as they were gone, Lucas leaned his head on Riley and let out a small breath. "Thank God."

"This is happening," she said, hardly believing it herself. "There's an actual shooter in this school."

* * *

 **Writers Note: Follow, Favorite, and Review**


	20. Chapter 20

**...**

 **Junior Year**

Matías once read a quote about change. He had stared at the typed up words through his screen for hours and he didn't understand why he was so drawn to it. As he stood in the silent bathroom, just at the beginning of class, he stared at Anthony, hardly blinking. He couldn't seem to wrap his mind around what he was seeing. The blood on the bathroom tiles started growing and it didn't take long before he realized it was James.

It was James who was lying on the ground, unconscious. Dead-like.

His eyes traveled from the red blood, to Anthony's eyes.

While they stared into each others eyes, both with completely different looks on their faces, Anthony nodded.

It wasn't just a simple nod, it was a nod that nearly broke his heart.

Anthony understood what Matías had to do. And that was tell someone. If he didn't, then James would bleed more than he already had. It also meant that Anthony would get in trouble. Matías took his gaze off of him because he turned his back and walked out the door. He knew he needed to tell someone.

As he stood outside the bathroom and into the empty halls, he felt something in his stomach beg him to stop. He couldn't find the strength to continue to walk. He took a deep breath, stepped inside, and locked the bathroom door.

"What are you doing?" Anthony asked once he saw him walk back. "You need to tell someone? James is hurt."

Matías ignored him and kneeled down to check James' pulse. He was alive.

"Matías," Anthony called to him. "Go get help!"

"Is this yours?" he asked instead of listening to him. When he saw him nod, he grabbed the backpack and threw it to the mirror near him. Anthony took a step back as the pieces of glass fell to the ground.

"What are you doing?" Anthony could hardly believe what he had done and he was in shock. He couldn't understand what Matías was doing or why he was doing it.

"When the police get here, tell them that you two got into an argument and _he_ attacked you. You pushed him in self defense and he hit himself in the mirror - which caused the broken glass pieces. James picked up a shattered glass and slashed you with it. You pushed him again, only harder and he slipped and cracked his head open on the sink. _He_ attacked you, remember that."

"What?" Anthony asked. "T-t-that's not what happened." His own fear barely allowed him to speak.

"I'm sorry, Anthony," he said as he kneeled down to pick up a piece from the glass, their eyes met and he took a step near him.

"Sorry for what?"

He tightened his grip on the glass and sliced it against the side of his arm. He could see his skin tear and blood come out of it. The rippled flesh was inches in diameter. The scar was bleeding and it stung him.

"What the hell, Matías?" he asked and bit his tounge. The cut was starting to sting and it stung bad.

"If you stick to my story it will look like self defense, I promise you Anthony you won't get in trouble."

Anthony could hardly recognize him. This was something he never in his life would've thought Matías was capable of doing. He thought that he would always stick by his morals and do the right thing. He was wrong. The blood from his wound fell onto the bathroom tiles in dime dized drops and brought him back to reality.

"I don't think I can lie," he spoke. "I've already lied to the police, I can't do that again."

"You were a suspect in Nina's murder!" he yelled so that he could get Anthony to see his point. "How do you think the police will react when they find out that you did this?" he spoke. "Say it was self - defense, Anthony. Cause if you don't...then I'm going down with you for this."

He looked around the bathroom, searching for answers as if there were any. He wanted to think of another solution, anything to get him out of the mess they were in. The only answer he found was Matías. He hated admitting that he had to do what he was told. If Anthony told the truth, he would be getting Matías in trouble too. He felt his hand touch his cheek and as soon as he felt his warmth, he was convinced.

Matías gave him one hard look and waited for a nod. When he got it, he took a deep breath and pretended to be scared. "Help!" he ran out of the bathroom and onto the hallway. He opened the nearest door and approached the teacher, "Two students are hurt and they need help!"

 **–**

Riley hadn't touched her phone at all and Lucas was starting to worry about her. He had texted her, asking her how she felt and if she needed anything or anyone to talk to. He waited and waited for her response but he wasn't left with one.

He figured that she wanted space because the last time they spoke she looked pretty upset. He was left with hope when Maya told him that she was sad because of Geb. That she had finally told them they were over and this time for good. Lucas knew that Riley would never forgive him for what he did. He tried to ruin her image and she was bullied because of him.

Half an hour passed and Lucas finally managed to act on his feelings. He knew Riley was sad and he wasn't gonna let her be. So he stood up from his house, picked up his phone and walked towards hers.

When he got there, Riley opened the door. She was surprised to see him and she tried to fix her hair. Lucas smiled because even though she thought it was messy, he thought it was perfect.

"Lucas," she spoke.

"Hey, I just wanted to know if you were okay." She opened the door even further so that he could come in. When he did, Lucas noticed that she was watching cartoons on the tv. "Would you like some company?"

She chuckled, "I used to watch a lot of Peppa Pig when I was younger."

He put his hands in his pockets, "Riley, if you want to talk - "

"Lucas," she gestured for him to sit next to her. He followed her finger and sat down. When he did, he could smell her scent. She smelled perfect. "I was hurt and I will admit that. Geb hurt me...again. But I realized something when I got home," she looked into his eyes and smiled, "If I let myself cry over one guy, then I'm just wasting my time on the next."

He grabbed her hand for comfort. But something in his didn't let him release his grasp.

"You're a really good friend, Lucas," she scooted her way closer to him and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I'm glad we bumped into each other that day in the hallway."

He smiled and leaned his chin on her head, "So am I."

They waited there for minutes and watched an episode of Peppa Pig before Riley spoke again. She didn't move her head from his shoulder, but they did let go of each others hands. "Have you heard?"

"Heard what?" he asked and turned to her. "What happened?"

"Matías and Anthony?" she asked but he was still confused. "James?"

"I - I don't know. What happened?"

"Anthony and James got in a fight. Anthony pushed him in self defense. James fell and cracked his head open. Matías walked in just in time to see it happen. How did you not hear about this?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "Is James okay?"

Riley shrugged, "He's in the hospital."

 **–**

Maya handed Missy a glass of water as they sat together in her kitchen table. Shawn and Katy were both working so Maya was home alone. She was surprised to see that Missy had texted and she still had not been told why.

The brunette looked fragile. She was skinny and shaking and she could barely hold her water without trembling. "Are you okay, Missy?" she asked and waited for a response.

Missy shook her head. "I don't believe for one second that Bayard killed Lauren. How is it possible?"

Maya sighed and tapped her finger on the wooden table. "What do you want us to do? We can't do anything."

"Waterbrooke is corrupt," Missy informed and the blonde furrowed her brows. "We told them that they had been tormenting us. Texting us, sending us threats through post it notes and they completely ignored it. Like as if it was nothing. How would Bayard do all of that _is he was in prison_!"

The blonde didn't know what to say because she had nothing to say. "Missy I think you should let it go. Those times were stressful and it's important that you stop worrying. Just please," she placed her hand on both of Missy's shoulders, "...breathe. Sleep. Rest. You can spend the night if you'd like. I'll be home alone for the most part."

"I - "

"Missy, ever since we found Lauren's body...has he texted you?" she questioned and the silence thickened. She waited once again for a response and when Missy shook her head no, she knew they were okay.

"What happened, happened. We are okay now, Missy, just breathe."

 **–**

Riley flipped through the channels and Lucas looked through the blinds onto the street outside Riley's home. She looked at him and furrowed her brows and he smiled back at her, "I thought the pizza was here."

"Lucas we called five minutes ago," she laughed. "How cute."

He placed his hand on his forehead in a way that Riley found attractive. For a second she found herself staring at his underwear - she managed to get view of it when he raised his hand to place it on his forehead. There was something about the black outline and his prominent smooth skin that caught her attention.

"I'm just hungry," he smiled. He noticed that Riley still hadn't found something to watch and she was still scrolling the channels. "Here, i'll find something." He extended his hand but Riley never gave him the remote.

"We're watching Grown Ups."

"I don't want to watch Grown Ups, I want to watch something else."

Riley shook her head no. When he saw the remote, he leaned in to reach it, but he lost his balance and fell on top of her instead. They were inches apart from each other, so close that he could hear her heart beats.

They locked eyes for seconds and then Lucas found the strength to get himself off of her and onto the couch beside her. He didn't need any more signs to understand what he felt for her. He already knew.

And he liked her. He felt for her.

 **–**

Anthony and Matías had not spoken to each other ever since they talked in the bathroom. They were separated when the police and ambulance arrived which, unfortunately, happened through passing periods so everybody got to walk by that bathroom.

It was night and Matías didn't know if Anthony would be up, but he just had to speak to him. He needed to see if he was okay or if he was hurt.

Since he would be sneaking out, he opened his bedroom door just a bit to see if his parents were still up, they weren't. Everything was quiet except the soft piano music he heard playing just down the hall. His sister was practicing for the recital she had coming up in just a few days which meant that's where she slept and ate. There were times when her music would help him, she would comfort him without even knowing she was doing so.

He closed the door and walked towards his window. He couldn't walk through the front door or else his sister would see him so he opted for the window. As soon as he was out, he watched the passing cars drive by the street, he couldn't help but think about Anthony. He didn't know how he was taking everything in. Was he hurting?

Anthony's house wasn't far from where he lived and when he arrived there he knocked on his window. It wasn't until the third knock when he peeked his head through. The night was cold and they stared at each other through the window for a couple of seconds.

"Are you going to let me in?" he asked.

Anthony debated on doing so, he didn't know what they would do. He finally found the strenth to open the window, as he entered his room Anthony quickly slipped on his shirt.

"I didn't mean to wake you," he apologized.

"I wasn't sleeping." Every time he closed his eyes he could see James losing his balance and hitting his head against the sink.

"I'm sorry," he spoke. He didn't think that the first time he'd stand in his room would be to talk about an experience that was tearing their friendship apart. His room was slightly bigger than his. He had dozens of pictures of his friends and family on his wall. As well as papers stacked on his computer. "I shouldn't have cut you and - "

"Is that all you care about?" Anthony nearly barked.

"What?" Matías was taken by complete surprise. He had seen him angry, but he had never seen him angry to a point where he looked like he could hit something. "No, you didn't let me - "

"I hurt him and you saw it," there was something about the way he said that. Because after he did, Matías understood guilt. "...but instead of getting the help he needed you made it look like I was the victim."

"I was protecting you. You protected me before, remember? When you ran into the basement for me...to save me. I was doing the same for you..."

"Don't," Anthony said waving his hand like he could somehow wave off what Matías wanted to say. "Don't say I deserved what you did," Anthony deadpanned and Matias stayed quiet. "Thanks to you I now have two scars on me that are both longer than four inches. My parents don't even think I should be hanging out with you anymore." They both stayed silent. "So this was just some 'I owe it to you' moment?"

"No, it..." he didn't know what to say because he didn't even know if that was the reason he did it.

"That's exactly it."

"I came to apologize, not to argue."

"Well you can keep your apology," he gestured to the window, "I don't want to hear you."

"You're willing to give up all of this because of what I did?" Matías asked. He couldn't believe what Anthony was saying and he was angry for it. "Where the hell was this kind of resentment when you lied to my brother - a detective who was only trying to save the life of an innocent girl. A girl who was murdered and made look like she killed herself. When you manipulated the life of an innocent victim, and let's not even mention she was your friend, just so you could save yourself." He took time to breath. He didn't know he had it within himself to argue like that. "Anthony you made the same mistake I made only ten times worse than. But you're pinning this on me so you have someone to blame. I don't know how you manage to look Geb in the eye after what he did to _me_. I manipulated the truth, Anthony, what he did was so much worse."

There was a lump in his throat that Anthony only got when he was upset and wanted to cry. He hated that he managed to bring out every single detail of his checkered past and leave him with nothing to say in defense. Matías has won so many arguments in the past when he's struggled to win just one. "What he did was worse but what you did was something I would've never expected."

"So this is it?" he questioned. "You're willing to just ignore me for the rest of our high school lives? Walk past each other as if we had never met?"

"Why not?" he questioned. "You did it to me before. The only difference will be that you will go on with your life and leave me behind with mine, as I drown in the guilt you always place in me. I was affected by what happened that day during graduation too. Once again I took the pain - "

"You do not want to talk about pain because you know I am more familiar with it than you are. I risked so much more for you," he clarified, his voice breaking. "Let's not forget the only reason you're even a junior is because the school administration felt pity for you and passed you along, by the end of your sophomore year you were failing all your classes. I know because I looked at your grades when I became your tutor, but I kept my mouth shut. If they were to see what you had done yesterday, your reputation would be over. It'd be finished. You'd be expelled."

"And what about you?" Anthony questioned. "I mean with Geb...your grandmother - "

"Don't ever," he spoke in a firm voice. "Ever, bring her up again."

He stepped back from him because he didn't know if they were capable of breaking out into a fight. Were they? Was he about to physically harm the one person he once considered his only friend. "You know before this, all of this," he began. "You were actually someone I could trust."

"I'm sorry your goody-goody outlook on me didn't last."

"Yeah," he clenched his jaw. He hated that he felt broken at the moment, they both knew this was where their friendship ends. Why was it that he was the only one affected by this? "Only that ended when you so blindly created your own reality."

"A couple days ago you asked me to choose between you or James," Matías began. "Maybe what I did for you today answered your question."

Matías entered his room with one intention but left with something completely different. What Anthony said about him was true; even if he didn't want to admit it. That was exactly what he did. But how was he supposed to hate himself for it, he covered his tracks. He's done it before.

And something told him he would have to do it again.

* * *

 **Writers Note: I feel like doing a little segment after these next few chapters where I reveal fun facts about my story. I feel like getting creative. Thank you guys so much for reading and what do you think about Riley and Lucas coming close kissing? Do you really think Bayard killed Lauren? Or sent both Maya and Missy the messages? And what you do think between Anthony and Matías? Do you think what he did was right? So MANY questions.**

 **Fun Fact #1: The last scene between Anthony and Matías was written wayyyyy before any of the previous chapters. It was also written during the time I was planning the very first chapters for End Game.**

 **Follow, Favorite and Review**


	21. Chapter 21

**Writers Note: I am so happy because not only have I finally started the parts in the story I've been wanting to write for a long time, but it has been a year since I first came up with the idea for this story. On April 15, 2017, the plot for A Bullet in Time came to me and I knew...I just knew, that I would definitely be writing it. I was so inspired and I am really happy you people get to read it and enjoy it. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I hope you enjoy.**

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

It was happening again.

The stares returned and once again Matías and Anthony weren't speaking to each other. The last time they were like this was the beginning of their junior year which was four months ago, almost five. Matías didn't feel guilty like he did this time, but four months back he felt angry and shy about it. This time he didn't care. Not anymore. He couldn't please anyone. He had finally accepted that he was just a weak, fragile student who didn't deserve the bad things that came his way.

As Anthony walked through the school halls, he heard the whispers, he saw the stares, he felt the judgment...and he put up with it. He was drowned with guilt and hate towards himself and towards Matías. He expressed how much he didn't like Matías idea, but yet he went and told the police the same lie. Just then he realized he was just as responsible for the hate, he himself deserved.

In the mornings, he got to school just in time before the bell rang and he walked straight to class. Normally he would walk Matías' to his but that came to an end. He was the first one in class and he was glad for it because that meant he didn't have to walk in front of everybody.

 **–**

"Was it a fight?" asked Mrs. Wilson, the school's vice principal, as she heard about the incident the following week. She spoke with Mr. Hyde as she ran multiple hands through her hair.

"There was an argument between the two that occurred in the bathroom. I guess Anthony - the student - must've said something to James that made him react the way he did."

"Which was completely violent, to begin with. This is the last thing we need right now," she said as she picked up a paper from the floor and placed it on her desk. "We're still hardly recovering from the charges made last year."

"I know," he said. The school came under fire when it was reported that a high school student was killed by another student that attended the same school. It was even worse when they discovered a teacher was the student's accomplice.

"Was there at least a 'wet floor' sign?" she asked with her full attention aimed at him. When the police arrived, they informed the teachers that the bathroom had water all over the floors and that it was possible that James lost his balance because he slipped after he was pushed.

Once Hyde shook his head no, she sighed in disappointment.

"We could get sued," she explained.

"If the parents decide on that."

"What makes you think they won't?" she asked. "He's in a coma and it happened on school grounds."

"We have attorneys."

Mrs. Wilson scoffed. "No one needs to be punished for this. Instead, we will need to improve safety precautions in this school. And that's a decision I am willing to make alone."

 **–**

Since Riley, Matías and Maya didn't have any plans, they decided to spend their lunch together. They were all sad because of something and the other's knew it, they just didn't want to speak about it. Every since Maya and Seth broke up, she has been feeling like her friendship with both Riley and Matías was drifting apart. She wanted it to stay unbroken because they were her memories and childhood all wrapped up in one.

"How are you?" Riley finally asked once she noticed the silence between them. She rubbed his shoulder to reassurance and she wanted him to know that she was there for him.

"I'm okay," he responded. He needed time alone to cry and admit that he was the reason his friendship with Anthony didn't last. He couldn't understand why he felt so terrible about losing him. He convinced himself that it was the guilt that made him sad, but he wasn't sure that was it. It didn't hurt him, though, what he did was wrong but he did it to save his friend. "I don't know what to say about James, though."

"I just can't believe this happened," Maya admitted. "I mean...when does that ever happen here?"

"This school is a terrible place," Riley spoke as she looked at the building behind them, the sun shining on her face prevented her from doing so.

"Is Anthony okay?"

He turned to look at Maya because she had asked that question. He didn't know what lie to tell them but then he realized he couldn't tell them the entire truth, but he could tell them bits of it. "We're not...we're not friends anymore."

"What?" they both asked in unison.

"Why not?" Riley asked. "What happened?" She was surprised because they were really good friends.

"We just decided that...people grow apart."

"It didn't have to do with his fight with James, did it?" the brunette asked and she scooted closer to him. "Matías if you stopped being friends with him because you saw him get angry that shouldn't be a big deal..."

"That's not it, Riley. I not mad at what he did nor am I sad about it...I'm just...I realized that we are different. Different people, we live different lives. I'm glad we had what he had...but my friendship lies with you two. And no one else."

They leaned their heads on his shoulders for a split second to show him that they felt the same way. If only their jovial mood lasted then that would've been perfect for them but like all good things...they come to an end.

"If it isn't Ms. Blowjob, the stupid blonde who fell for a player, and the only witness to the biggest fight in Abigail Adam's High School history all in one place."

Riley could feel her own eyeballs roll so far back that she felt her stare could kill. "What do you want, Tori."

"Oh, nothing. I don't need anything from you guys...I just wanted to congratulate you guys for finally deserving the names you guys deserve." She blew them a kiss and turned her back on them.

"Well, she's still a bitch."

 **–**

Lucas was walking in the hallway when he noticed Anthony. He had just opened his locker and taken his stuff out. He looked upset and sad but he still wanted to talk to him. "Hey, Anthony. Wait up."

Anthony turned around and saw that Lucas had called to him. "Hey, what's up?"

"Nothing much," he spoke as he readjusted the backpack straps on his shoulders. "What class do you have?"

"Math," he answered.

He nodded. "Are you okay?"

Anthony clenched his jaw because he couldn't believe he was being asked that. As soon as he heard the words roll out of Lucas' mouth, he swore he could have cried then and there. He wanted so much to be asked that. And when he heard it, it made him feel sad but good. "Fine," he said as if it didn't bug him much but it did.

"Good," Lucas nodded. He knew Anthony would. "Listen I was thinking of doing something with Riley later on today if she says yes, do you want to come?"

He nodded, "That would be great"

"I'll see you then."

Anthony continued to walk but Lucas slowed down. He liked that their friendship came naturally, there was never anything awkward between them. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a letter that he had written for Riley the day before. He knew his feelings for her and he's known them for a while, he just needed to courage to tell her. He realized that he was so much better at writing down his feelings than saying them aloud. So he wrote them in a letter he would be slipping into Riley's locker.

As he examined the thing, he smiled because he knew he would win her over. He just wanted to see her reaction.

He looked both ways to make sure she was nowhere in sight and when she wasn't, he slipped the letter in.

 **–**

Little did Lucas know that Geb was watching him from the opposite side of the hallway. He was curious as to what he slipped in so he waited for the bell to ring so that he could see. Waiting took forever but it finally came and when it did, he watched as everybody walked to their classes. He walked towards Riley's locker and entered her combination, he knew it because she once told him so that he could get her books. It took him a while to get over the memory but as the locker opened and he took out the letter, he felt a wave of anger wash all over him.

He felt like ripping the paper in half. He decided he wanted to know what it was about. He slipped it in through his pockets and he closed the locker before getting to class.

 **–**

"Hey, do you have a minute?" Josh asked as he walked into the room where Missy was in. She looked at him and she was surprised to be seeing him. They hadn't spoken to each other and she wasn't sure if they were arguing or if they were mad at each other. She removed her backpack so that he could sit down next to her.

When he saw this, he knew she wanted to talk. "The reason I've been so against you trying to solve this...case...is because I don't want you to get hurt, Missy."

She turned to him, "Josh, my protection shouldn't be your concern. And I'm already hurt. Okay? I have been for months now," she placed her hand on his cheek, "Josh, I will always be okay."

He took her hand in his, "I don't want us to be mad at each other anymore."

She nodded, "I don't either. I want us to be safe, to be all right..." she looked at him. He had a small smile. "And we can only do that if we are friends."

"What?" he asked. His smile left him and he didn't know if he heard her right.

"I realized something. Josh, I don't want to be in a relationship. What I want...is to find this person because I know in my heart that Bayard did not kill Lauren. It's not fair that I continue to do this to you."

He didn't know what to say. He never expected that someone would break up with him at school. He looked at her and she had a different stare, a different feeling. She wasn't his Missy anymore.

"I survived the death of my friend. I survived the heartbreak of finding out that she was killed by our friend. And I'll survive this."

She grabbed on to her backpack and stared at Josh once more before kissing his cheek and walking out.

He thought that he would be heartbroken, but he didn't feel that way. He was sad and bummed, but it was enough so that he could go on with his day.

 **–**

Acacia had to stay after school in order to catch up on work. She had been falling behind because when she got home, she went straight to her piano and completely forgot that she had homework to do. As she finished answering the questions on her paper, she closed the large science book and returned it back to its place. She left the paper on the teacher's desk and then walked out.

She placed all of her stuff in her backpack and sighed. She was going to need to spend at least four hours completing everything she missed. Couldn't teachers understand that she was auditioning for one of the highest music schools in the state? She was so angry with them and she wished that they could know. That they would take it easy on her but she knew they wouldn't.

It also didn't help that her brother was now hardly speaking to her. They had such a great relationship but ever since her parents got the call from the police and told them about the incident, they have been distant. At first, her parents thought that he had caused the fight but they were relieved to hear that he was just a witness.

Matías spend most of his time in his room and he only walked out when he needed to use the bathroom or to eat. Besides that, he wished to be alone.

As she rounded the hall, she was stopped by what she had seen. She saw two people standing really close to each other. Wrapped in each other's arms, kissing and smiling as if they were madly in love. She was surprised to be seeing this especially since the two people looked like they were in her grade.

But then something in her felt as if it had slowly disappeared. She felt this way because she had seen the face of the guy that was kissing the girl.

It was Kaden.

She placed her hand over her heart because it felt like she had physically been stabbed. He looked happy and his feelings for her were clear. She hated that he had moved on so fast, but she found a way to turn that hate into music.

Acacia walked away with tears in her eyes. She knew her parents were waiting outside so she wiped the tears away fast and put on a smile as she got onto the car.

"Hi, honey. ¿Cóme te fue la escuela?"

"Bien," she answered. She decided to lie to them because if she told them the truth then her parents would think differently of Kaden. She didn't want that.

 **–**

Maya ate dinner with her mom and with Shawn. They were seated at the dining table and talking about their days. A while ago, Maya didn't like the fact that her mom was going to remarry.

Now, as she stared at them, she didn't want any of it to change. She lived in a perfect world when she was with them. They laughed and hugged, joked and loved each other. They were her happy place. "Honey, while we're in Cabo, you're gonna be sleeping with Riley. Her parents will be home by then."

"Why can't I just stay here?" she asked and looked at them.

"We decided that it's not safe," Shawn told her. "Your mother and I are still uneasy about leaving you alone considering the fact that you were being tormented with for weeks."

"Okay," she learned to accept the fact that her parents were difficult to convince. At times she wanted to argue so much but she knew they wanted what's best for her.

"Honey, we want you to know that we love you. And that you can tell us anything. We love you."

"I love you too," she told them and both Shawn and Katy took her hands.

A while ago, she thought she was never going have a happy family. Now, as they continued to eat, she knew her family was more than fixed.

It was unbreakbale.

 **–**

 **Writers Note: Today (as I am writing this) it is March 25, 2018. A day after March On Washington. I am so incredibly inspired and amazed by what happened. It is so incredible to see people stand up and speak up, to see the next generation making change and setting a legacy that we all knew was possible. Guys it is so important to speak up, to love and to be safe.**

 **Follow, Favorite and Review**


	22. Chapter 22

**...**

 **Junior Year**

Geb didn't know enmity until today. He had never been so angry with someone that he could physicically hurt them and want to see them hurt. He held onto the letter Lucas wrote to Riley and he felt like ripping it in pieces. The only thing that stopped him was that he wanted to tell Seth about it. Lately, Seth had been his only friend. Anthony had completely stopped talking to them and started hanging out with Matías. At times even Lucas.

He felt betrayed by him, but he was saving that anger for some other time.

"Seth," Geb approached him. It was morning and school didn't start for another two minutes. "I found something. Read this."

He took the letter despite being mad at him. As he read through it, he quickly realized that it was a love letter. "Whose is this?"

"That's Lucas," he told him. "He wrote it to Riley."

Seth took a deep sigh because he didn't care about them. Hee didn't care what Lucas felt about Riley or what Riley felt about Lucas. He cared about Maya and right now she was mad at him because of something Geb made him do. "Wh-why do I need to see this?"

"He likes her," Geb confirmed.

"Everybody knows that."

He clenched his jaw. He had a feeling for such a long time, but he didn't know until now. "I'm gonna hurt him. I'm not gonna let him take her from me!"

"She's not yours," Seth yelled and everybody in the hallway turned in their direction. Geb had never seen Seth get angry with him. "Let her go man, you sound like a lunatic."

He walked passed him leaving him alone in the hallway. When he looked around, he realized that many people were staring at him, some were even laughing at him. It would've stayed that way for a while if it hadn't been for the bell.

He continued to walk, picking up the letter from the ground and heading to class.

 **–**

Before the bell rang, Lucas walked towards Riley. She was by her locker taking some stuff out and placing them inside her backpack. He was surprised she didn't call him or text him as soon as she found the letter, he convinced himself that she hadn't seen it or maybe she might've missed it. He figured he wanted to be with her when she saw it.

"Hey," he smiled at her.

"Hi."

Lucas furrowed his brow. She was still the same Riley. "Is everything okay?" he asked. He thought she was just messing with him but that feeling quickly ended when she said that everything was okay.

He opened her locker a bit more so he could see the contents, but he didn't spot the letter. "Huh."

"Lucas," she said to him. "Are _you_ okay?"

"I'm great," he leaned against the locker next to her and crossed his arms against his chest. Someone must've tooken it. And if someone did that meant that she had no idea of the letter or his feelings towards her. But who could've taken it? No one had a motive.

The bell rang and Riley said that she was going to class, Lucas told her that he would stay behind. He felt empty inside. Like it was sign. That he shouldn't tell her how he felt so their friendship wouldn't be ruined.

He leaned back on her locker and sighed. When he looked across the hallway, he noticed that Geb was walking. Of course, his stare on him always looked like it could kill. But something caught his attention. Geb was holding a piece of paper with writing on it.

And that's how he found out. He realized it was Geb who took the letter from Riley's locker so that she wouldn't find out Lucas liked her. He felt his hands ball and he wanted to punch him. He controlled himself because they were in school, but now he couldn't stand the thought of him.

"What's up, loser?" he heard Maya say. "You better hurry or we're gonna be late."

Lucas forgot that they had the same class together. "I swear I could kill him."

Maya looked at him, "Who?"

"Geb," he answered, but then he realized he needed to explain why. "He...um...I wrote Riley a letter telling her how I feel about her. I slipped it into her locker, but I guess he saw so he took the letter."

Maya stopped walking and so did he, "You were going to tell her?"

He nodded. "She would've known, but, now she doesn't."

Maya looked at him and for the first time she saw a small glimpse of sadness in Lucas. She felt bad for him so she wanted to help him. She figured this was a perfect time to complete her own revenge. "I have an idea."

 **–**

Maya waited for Seth to walk out of class. The bell had just rung and as soon as it did, she walked out of her class to get to his. As soon as everybody walked out, she was worried that she got the wrong class but she didn't. He was the last one to walk out of class and when he noticed her, he was surprised. "Maya?"

"Seth," she smiled. He wore a white shirt that hugged his muscles perfectly with blue jeans. "Hey, can we talk?"

"Yes," he said almost immediately. "I mean, yeah. What's up?"

She wanted to laugh but she chose to keep a straight face, "I just wanted to say I was wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"I got angry," she admitted. "I shouldn't have broken up with you over that. I was hoping you could take me back?"

"Really?" he asked. He couldn't tell if she was serious or not especially since the Maya he knew would never do this, "Are you serious?"

She nodded, "So is that a yes?"

"Yes," he took her hand and pulled her closer to him, "Of course it's a yes."

"Good, because I was hoping we could hang out today."

"I - I already had plans with Geb, but I could cancel."

"No," she said. "I'll just tag along." The smile on his face convinced her that he did like her. She always had a small doubt about it, but now she was sure he did like her.

"Okay, good," he said barely taking his eyes off of her. "I'll text you?"

She nodded. "That sounds perfect."

 **–**

When school was over, Matías went straight home. He didn't realize it but losing Anthony meant losing his only friend. He had been and felt alone and ever since then. He wished that he and Anthony could go back to talking, that they could talk to each other again, but he knew that wouldn't happen. They created a huge altercation and he felt that they wouldn't be talking for a while. Some part of him, however, was angry about it. He was only trying to defend him, but instead, it only ruined their friendship.

He spent hours in his room finishing his homework and then watching On My Block on Netflix. Before he knew it, his parents were calling him down for dinner. "Coming!" he yelled to them. He walked down the stairs and into the dining room where his mom and dad were.

They were cooking the food and placing it on the table where Matías sat. "I wanted to tell you this ahead of time, but I am going to be helping with the decorations for Winter Formal, so I won't be here when it comes."

"That's good to know, mijo," his dad, Mateo, said.

"Acacia!" his mom, Camila, called to her. When she didn't get a response, she turned to Matías, "Is she home?"

"Yeah, I saw her walk in. She's just finishing her homework, she should be down in a bit."

"I'm here," Acacia said. She sounded tired and she brought her notebook with her. "I'm just trying to get through this before the recital comes."

"Mija, speaking of your recital, your mother and I made reservations for the four of us to eat at a restaurant right after."

"Really?" she asked. "Sweet."

"But that means you need to raise that C up to a B, are we clear?" her mother asked. Camila was strict about good grades. She wanted her children to have a promising future one that meant their children would be successful in life. It's why Matías pushed for honor classes and refused to take an off period.

"Just one more week," Acacia said. "And then I will focus one hundred percent on my grades. I have already made arrangements to stay after class with my teachers so they could help me, trust me, mama, I got this."

"Bien," her mother spoke.

"So, your mother and I also have some important news to tell you two."

"What is it?" Matías asked. He didn't know what it would

"We're going to Cancun."

"What? Really? Are you serious?"

"Yes, we are serious. We figured it was a much-needed break considering we can all use one. So, we leave a week after school ends."

Acacia squealed. "How long are we going for?"

"Two weeks."

"Aghhh!" she stood up. "I need to go tell my friends."

Matías watched as she walked away and then he turned to his parents, "Can you guys afford it?"

"Mijo," his mom spoke. Matías was always concerned about what their parents could or couldn't afford, "You shouldn't be worried about that. Your dad and I afford what we can and we can afford this."

"Okay," he nodded. "Thank you."

His mother smiled and they continued to eat. Matías didn't like to physically show his excitement but he was happy his parents decided they should take a family trip. He wished he could tell someone about it. Normally he would look forward to telling Anthony, but now that they weren't friends, he felt sad. The only thing maintaining his excitement was that he would be able to get away for the summer.

 **–**

Maya knocked on Geb's door because that's where Seth told her to go. She didn't know how she felt about it but she was glad that she would see him.

When she knocked on his door, she didn't know what to expect and what she would see. Seth opened the door for her and when he saw that she was there, he hugged her and then leaned in to kiss her. She dodged his kiss and instead he kissed her cheek. "Listen, we already ordered the pizza and we're playing Fortnite."

"Oh, okay."

He let her in and the first thing she saw was Geb's family picture. She saw his dad, him, and his younger brother who was hugging his foot.

"Hey, Maya, what's up?" Geb said. He stood up and walked towards her, "How are you?"

"I've been great," she answered him. "Look, Riley has been talking about you lately."

"Really?" he asked, fully invested in what she was going to say.

"Yeah. If I'm honest I think she wants to get back together," Maya told him and he took a step back.

"A-a-are you sure?" he asked.

Maya nodded and watched as Geb grabbed his coat. "Hey, Seth. I'll be back in a bit. Wait till I get back. Eden's in his room sleeping, but if he wakes up just let him watch Spongebob on Tv. He normally goes back to sleep right after." He walked towards his front door and opened it. In one movement he was already out the door.

"Well he's happy," Seth laughed as he sat down on the couch. He patted on the couch for Maya to sit and when she did, he grabbed her hand. "I'm happy you took me back, you know?"

"You are? We were only off for like an hour," she joked.

He pulled her closer to him and they stayed that way talking.

 **–**

Riley was on her bed, in her pajamas watching TV when she heard a light tap on her door. She sat upright quickly and grabbed her bat. She did this because she was home alone and she was sure she locked all the doors.

She placed her hand on the knob and pulled the door back, she would've swung the bat if it hadn't been for Lucas who was quick to move out the way, "What the hell?"

"Lucas?" she asked. "What are you doing here? It's about to be nine."

"I just wanted to see you," he said and watched as Riley set her bat down on the side of her bed. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"No, I just. I thought I locked the doors."

"They weren't locked when I walked in - at least not the front door," he sat down on the side of her bed and smiled, "You would've damaged my pretty face," he joked. Seeing Riley laugh gave him joy.

"A boy should know better than to sneak up on a girl," she said. "So...what did you come here for?"

Lucas' smile thinned because he had to tell her now. He didn't know how he would be able to confess his feelings for her without making himself look like a fool. He stood up and walked towards her bay window, he opened the curtains before walking back to her bed. "There's something I need to tell you?"

"Okay, you're scaring me," the seriousness that came over him when she asked him what he wanted to tell her made her worry. "What is it?"

"I've been thinking of different ways to tell you this but," he licked his lips, "None of them seem to be the right one."

She grabbed his hand, "Lucas whatever it is, just tell me. There doesn't have to be a perfect way."

He looked down at their hands and it gave him the strength to continue, "I like you, Riley. A lot. And I-I've tried a thousand times to tell you, but I could never find the right way. I even wrote you a letter and I left it in your locker, but...when I realized it wasn't there and that you didn't see it, I knew I had to tell you in person."

"You wrote me a letter?" she asked.

"I did," he nodded. When he saw Riley smile he knew he didn't just embarrass himself.

"Lucas," she brought herself closer to him. "That has to be the most genuine thing someone has ever done to me."

He smiled and then the silence lengthened, "So...do you feel the same way about me?"

Riley completely forgot to answer his question. She looked down at their hands which were still intact and then she looked into his eyes. It gave her the confidence to perform her next move. Bringing his hand to her waist, and then bringing herself to his laps, Riley stared at him. "If I didn't would I do this?" she leaned in to kiss him and as soon as their lips touched, Lucas kissed her passionately. She kissed back because she had always wanted to do so. She never found the strength to confess how she felt and she was glad that he did. She pulled from the kiss and leaned her forehead against his, they were breathing slowly with their eyes closed. "I like you, Lucas. A lot."

He smiled once more and kissed her unapologetically. "I've been wanting to tell you that for so long."

She kissed him again, "I'm glad you did."

 **–**

"That was after you bumped into the guy," Seth said as he laughed. Maya and him were currently remembering past dates they had and they both couldn't stop laughing. He always forgot that he and Maya were capable of laughing at each other's embarrassing moments no matter how they felt about it. As soon as their laughter died down, Seth realized that he hadn't apologized for what he did. "Maya, I'm sorry."

She furrowed her brows, "For?"

"For what I did to Riley," he informed and then her eyes widened. It was like she had completely forgotten about it. "You know, it was stupid. And I - I shouldn't have done it."

"It was stupid," she agreed with him. "But, I'm glad you're sorry."

He set his drink down on the table in front of them and he leaned in to kiss Maya. Before their lips could touch, before he could place her hand on his cheek, she pushed him away.

"I'm sorry, I thought - "

"You thought?" she asked. Maya looked angry and he didn't think he would offend her this much.

"Maya, I'm sorry, I didn't - "

She started to laugh which made Seth genuinely confused. He waited for her to stop laughing, but he couldn't help but feel hurt. "You really thought I would forgive you for what you did?" she asked him. "After every fucking mistake you've made...you really thought I would date you again?"

He furrowed his brows, "What?"

"I only did this to get back at you for what _you_ did," she said and then he started to realize it. She was never going to take him back.

"What do you mean?" his pain was noticeable in the way he spoke.

"You're an asshole. A pig! What you did hurt me. It broke me. You feel that pain? That loss inside you?" she narrowed her eyes, "That's exactly how I felt."

Seth couldn't believe what Maya was telling him. One minute they were happy with each other and the next she was yelling at him. She completely squashed his happiness.

She grabbed her purse and looked back at him, "I don't think I can ever forgive you for what you did. I just wanted you to feel the same way I felt. And it fucking sucked."

She slammed the door on her way and as soon as she was gone, he grabbed his glass cup and threw it towards the wall. He couldn't believe she had played him like that. He thought he was going to win her back but it turns out she never wanted that.

She never wanted any of it.

 **–**

Geb stood in front of Riley's house, frozen. He watched as Lucas and Riley kissed. As she smiled and looked at him like nothing else mattered. He watched as she laughed at everything he said, or how she reached for him every time he got away from her. Or how he carried her and gently set her down on her bed just so he could kiss her again.

He felt like he had lost a huge part of himself. Like everything he searched for was just taken from him.

He thought Riley was going to give him a second chance, but he quickly realized that Maya did that to mess with him. To hurt him the same way he hurt Riley.

He balled his fists as he watched Riley and Lucas kiss each other.

He clenched his jaw and swore that he would never let anyone treat him this way again.

 **–**

 **12 Hours Before...**

"I wrote Riley a letter telling her how I felt about her. I slipped it into her locker, but I guess he saw so he took the letter."

Maya stopped walking and so did he, "You were going to tell her?"

He nodded. "She would've known, but, now she doesn't."

Maya looked at him and for the first time, she saw a small glimpse of sadness in Lucas. She felt bad for him so she wanted to help him. She figured this was a perfect time to complete her own revenge. "I have an idea."

"And idea?" Lucas asked. "What is it?"

She looked both ways before stepping closer to him, "You just gotta tell her how you feel, be honest - it's what she loves about you."

He smiled.

"And I'll make sure Geb is there to see you two. When she tells you she feels the same - and by the way, she will - kiss her. Kiss her and don't stop. Geb will be heartbroken. And that's your revenge."

"That's it?" Lucas asked.

Maya nodded, "Well, that's it for Geb. I have something in mind for Seth."

* * *

 **Writers Note: RILEY AND LUCAS ARE FINALLY TOGETHER! What do you think about Maya getting her revenge on Seth and Geb? Will this cause any trouble? New chapters will return in two weeks, so don't expect an update next week. Thank you so much for reading.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Writers Note: So it has been a while since I've posted, but I am here and I apologize for the mini hiatus. Guys, you have no idea what I have in stores for you. You will not exptect it and the upcoming cliffhanger will definitely leave you speechless. I can't wait for you to read it.**

 **Junior Year**

 **Two Days Later**

 **...**

Riley and Lucas have been inseperable ever since they became boyfriend and girlfriend. They spent hours together and never got tired of it. As she placed her hand on his cheek, she felt his warmth and his breath. He grabbed her hands at any chance he got and she loved it. She loved being with him.

As they kissed, they kissed with so much passion. Riley wrapped both her hands around his neck. She loved that she finally found the person she thought was worth dating. A smile graced his face as soon as she looked at it, then when their eyes met, he kissed her again. Repeatedly. Unapologetically.

And she never wanted it to end.

 **–**

"Matías," Acacia jumped on his bed. It was early morning and the sun was still out, she moved him frantically so that he would wake up. When he's eyes shot open, it was clear to her that she had scared him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," she squealed, "Nothing is wrong every is just so perfect! My recital is only a few days away. What do I do? I don't know what to do. I mean I am so nervous but at the same time so excited, I just can't wait. I can't wait."

He groaned and placed a pillow over his shoulder, not wanting to hear it. He didn't like to be woken up for reasons that didn't require his immediate attention.

"But, I made some arrangements and the board allowed me to use a dancer for my set. Isn't that cool?"

"A dancer?" he asked half asleep. They've had talks like this. Where he pretends he's listening but he's really just trying to fall asleep, and then magically Acacia learns something from their talk and she thanks him for listening.

"Yes. I'm still looking but that looks great with the judges. It's all about appearance and about your musical abilty, so yeah, that's basically it."

"You know you could've just told me this when I was awake," he told her and she realized he was right. She laid on his bed for a few more seconds before she removed his pillow and told him to walk downstairs for breakfast.

 **–**

Saturdays were made for Maya. She loved waking up the next day to a bright room and having time to herself. Her parents were normally working Saturday mornings which meant that she was home alone. She rolled out of bed and walked down her stairs. As she made her way to the kitchen, she stopped at her living room because she was sure she saw a figure on her couch. She caught glimpse of it from the corner of her eye but she didn't know who it could be.

She made a left to get a view of the couch and saw that she was right. Someone was on her couch. She stepped closer to it and but she still wasn't sure who it was. The person's face wasn't facing her direction, she was only able to see their light brown hair. She came close and she realized that it was Josh.

She had completely forgotten about the night before.

The more she stared at him, the more she was able to remember why he was there in the first place. They talked the entire night and he told her about his breakup with Missy. She was surprised at first and they ended up talking for a really long time.

"Josh," she said his name and nudged him. He didn't wake up and it wasn't until the third time she did it, that he sat upright and looked all around the house before he saw her too.

"Shit! What time is it?"

"Nine-thirty," she answered.

Josh placed his hands over his eyes and rubbed them. "Thanks for letting me crash on your couch," he chuckled.

She smiled softly and then walked towards her kitchen, "Do you want some cereal?"

Maya never knew how to start a conversation and she was convinced she would never know how. She watched as he walked towards her and sat down on the stool beside the kitchen island, his eyes caught her attention for a few seconds but she was able to look away before it got awkward. "Do you still like Lucky Charms?"

He nodded, "Forever my favorite."

"Mine too," she reached into her cabinet and pulled out the cereal before she brought the milk out from the refrigerator.

He poured himself cereal and waited for the milk. Maya's eyes locked with his for a split second. She was reminded of all the times they would do that. Back then they were together which made it cute, but now since they weren't, it made it weird.

The night before, she remembered seeing a vulnerable side to Josh she hadn't expected to see. He was honest with her and she loved every single second of it. For the first time, he told her how he felt about Missy and that he was still hurt and that he needed to recover. He said he was only honest with her because he loved hearing the truth from her. When Maya gave him advice, he listened and actually thought about it.

They continued to talk for a few more minutes but eventually, time came and he decided to leave. While Maya walked him to the door, he thanked her for being there for him. He said that she was always the one who helped him when he needed the help.

He gave her a hug and the hug lasted for a few seconds. She felt her heart race and her eyes widened because for the first time in a long time she was starting to feel the same feeling she felt when she was dating him. Every hug he gave her radiated chills up and down her back.

When she closed the door, she leaned on it and crouched.

It didn't take long for her to realize that maybe she wasn't entirely over him.

That maybe a part of her still liked him and wanted to be with him.

 **–**

Anthony stared at the mirror in the gym. His shirt was resting on the bench beside him and he stared at the features in his stomach. Sweat was spread all throughout his body and he slowly recollected his breaths.

Every time he closed his eyes, he saw James. Everywhere he looked, he saw James. He felt like he was being overcome by a huge lie that he forced himself into telling.

He searched for many distractions and he was glad he found one. The town's gym was his asylum. He was safe there, he felt sane there.

His breathing was starting to cool and the burning sensation in his biceps was starting to fall into ease. The last time Anthony went to the gym, he was still really close friends with Geb and with Seth. Their goal back in the eighth grade was to develop six packs so that they would be able to show them off. That lasted for several months but stopped when their sophomore year started. He knew his body was in shape, he had a four pack and some muscle which many complimented him on but it didn't feel like enough for him.

He never really had an excuse to be fit other than he wanted to, but now he did. He wanted to forget about what he had done and completely drain and tire himself so that he had more time to sleep and forget.

As he prepared himself to do his next workout, he heard his phone go off and a notification appear.

 **Acacia's Piano Recital - Coming up!**

He clenched his jaw and set his phone down. He had previously written that notification when he and Matías were still friends. He was really looking forward to it, but now it just reminded him of what he had done and what Matías did to help him out of it.

He hated feeling down.

Anthony did his best to forget about it. He tried different workout methods and he didn't stop until he couldn't feel anything in his body. He didn't want to stop until he forgot about everything.

 **–**

Geb cracked an egg and placed the yolk on the pan. He turned around every once in a while to check on his is little brother who was in the living room watching cartoons and waiting for his breakfast. As Geb walked around the kitchen preparing their food, he placed two pieces of bread on the toaster and picked up the house phone because it had been ringing for a few seconds now. "Dad?" he asked into the phone. He had recognized the number before answering.

"Hey, how's everything going?"

"Great," he answered very flatly. He turned around to look at his brother who was still entertained by the figures on the TV.

"Good," his dad spoke clearly noticing Geb's tone. He didn't have a healthy relationship with his son and they had been drifting apart for a really long time now. They hardly talked ever since the argument they had a few months back.

"Listen, I'll be home late again. There's money - "

"...behind the cups inside the cabinet. I know."

"Okay," his dad whispered, "Stay safe. Call me if you need anything."

He hung up on his dad soon after and returned to the eggs on the stove. When the eggs were ready, he placed them on a plate and called his brother to the table. He loved that though his relationship with his dad was tainted, his relationship with his brother wasn't. They were the best of friends and they could talk about anything anywhere. "Will your friend be coming over today?"

"I dunno know," he spoke in a voice that Geb never got tired of. He set the fork down and started to pick up the food on his plate with his bare little hands. "I might go to his house."

Normally Geb would tell him to eat with his fork, but he didn't really care this time. He was going to shower him anyways.

They continued to talk, but that stopped when his phone started to ring. He saw Seth's name and answered. "What do you need?"

"Do you remember those pictures you buried?" Seth asked. "A while back?"

"What about them?" He remembered being sad about Riley and strugglign whether he should move on or continue to fight for her.

"I need them back," he spoke.

"Why do you need them back?"

"Because," he said. "I hid a flash drive in the bag...and I need it back."

 **–**

Riley looked into a pair of green, emerald-like eyes. She placed her hand on his cheek and caressed it. The smile on her lips felt so surreal. She knew that somewhere in her twisted life, she would find the one. She just didn't expect that it would happen so soon.

"I'm so happy you exist," she told him.

Lucas smiled when she said that. He wanted nothing more than to be loved and cherished, he always wanted something like that and he was happy to have found it with the person he wanted that with.

It's hard when you want someone that doesn't want you, he felt for that. But he could never relate to it because the person he wanted to be with, wanted him back. And there was nothing better than that.

He leaned into her and softly kissed her lips. Wanting to feel her and wanting to show her how much she meant to him.

When they stopped kissing, Riley smiled and he placed his forehead on hers. "When did it start?" he asked.

"When did what start?"

"You're feelings for me?" he asked.

She smiled, "Well, we here," she gestured to her living room. "It was night, and we were watching a movie."

He chuckled at the memory.

"A part of me always knew, I just didn't realize it and that was the day where I truly felt like: "Hey, maybe we can be more" and I'm glad we are."

When Riley looked at him, she felt like she was in a never ending fairy tale. It was still new to her that she had found someone new and someone so much better than Geb. "What about you?" she asked him. "When did you start having feelings for me?"

"When I bumped into you," he answered in a heartbeat. "I knew it then and I was right. You're the first girl that I have ever felt this way about and it means so much to me."

Riley placed her hand over her heart because she had felt every single word he uttered. "You're cute when you say romantic things."

He pulled her closer to him and continued to kiss her.

 **–**

"Why are we here?" Josh asked Maya as they walked. He had recognized the path and knew where they were heading but he didn't know why. "It's been a long time since we've been here?"

"I know," Maya said when they reached the broken gazebo. They were in the middle of nowhere surrounded by dried grass but a lot of trees. "But, I remember you telling me that this was your happy place. That it brought light to your darkest days."

He smiled and stepped inside the gazebo. "The last time we were here, it was when we were together. You know?"

"I do," she told him and looked ahead of her. "I miss those days you know. We weren't the best at dating but...we were certainly the best of friends at the time."

Josh's smile faded because he realized the horrible things he had done. He used to intentionally avoid her so that he could be with Missy and during the time he didn't feel about it, but now he did. "You were amazing when we were together," he spoke. "I was the fuckup."

Maya noticed where their talk could potentially head so she tried to change the subject but he always found a way to bring it back to where they were at. "I'm sorry, Maya. I don't know what I was thinking at the time."

She turned to look at him, "Josh, we don't need to talk about it - "

"I had feelings for Missy when I was with you. I didn't have the heart to break up with you so I avoided you...fuck..." he turned around because his eyes were starting to tear up and he didn't want her to see.

"All right," she walked up to him and turned him around, "Yes, I'll admit, you did fuck up. And it did hurt me. It hurt really bad. But I never hated you for it. I may have said things and acted in ways I shouldn't, but I never felt like I wanted you to feel broken like the way I did at the time. That happened months ago and it's best we put it behind us...and be friends."

He looked into her eyes and nodded. When she took a step back he grabbed onto both her hands and pulled her closer to him for a hug.

Maya didn't expect it and as soon as she got to feel him, she felt a dozen bolts of energy run through her. The smell he radiated reminded her of many memories they shared and the way she felt. As her head rested on his collarbone, she knew then and there that she wasn't over him. She knew that her feelings for him were very much still there.

And they were just as strong.

 **–**

Matías parents were in the living room waiting for Acacia to finish getting dressed so that they could go to the mall and buy her dress. He already knew what he was gonna wear and he had no intentions of going just so that he could follow his sister around. She was the worst when it came to shopping because she always took a long time to decide on the outfits she wanted to buy.

He sat down on the couch and watched TV while his parents spoke to each other.

They were speaking about her recital and the dinner afterward. He knew that they were stressed especially with the trip they were going to take during the summer and now Acacia's dress.

"Okay, I am ready," his sister spoke as she walked down the stairs. "Let's go, we can't waste any time."

His parents stood up and headed towards the door. His dad turned around to look at him, "Are you sure you don't want to go? Last chance."

"Me quedo," he answered. He didn't want to go because he just wasn't in the mood for it. He liked to be home alone when the time was given and it was a good time to finish some of the homework he hadn't done.

"Okay, mijo," he closed the door and Matías returned his attention towards his TV. A few minutes later, after he had cleaned the house and finally sat back down on the couch, a knock came from the door and he stood to answer it.

When he opened the door he didn't expect to see who he saw. He froze and for a few seconds, he was completely lost. He was hardly able to speak.

Until he could, "Anthony?"

 **–**

 **Writers Note: Do you guys like Anthony and Matías? Let me know what you guys think. If you guys have questions I can always answer them. Something that I have been thinking about lately, is how I am going to end this story. I seriously don't know how. I do know how the whole lock down scenes are gonna play out, but I haven't written any, I have planned them out, I've just been imagining them in my head every once in a while. Wish me luck.**

 **Fun Fact #2: (Forgot about these) I really liked the name** **Matías and how it sounded, I don't know how you guys pronounce it but it has that Spanish tone and there is emphasis on the I. There came a time where I wanted to change his name and I came really close to, but I chose to leave it. One of the reasons I wanted to change it was because of the way it sounded once I wrote the word 'said' next to it. Like _Matias said._ It just didn't really satisfy me, but I chose to leave it and I am glad I did. **

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	24. Chapter 24

**...**

 **Junior Year**

Maya stopped her car in front of Josh's house and turned to him. He was a lot happier now and Maya couldn't tell if it was because of their talk or because of the burger she bought him.

When he noticed that Maya had stopped driving, he realized that she had stopped because she near his house. His smile seemed to flatten. Maya was able to see his lips thin, she would've missed it if hadn't been staring at them. "Everything okay?" she asked.

He didn't nod, instead, he looked at her and then shrugged. "I don't know," he answered. There was something about the way he said it that made Maya feel his pain, "But I...I feel good. I feel great."

She looked away, not knowing what to do at the moment. "You know, just because you aren't dating her doesn't mean you guys can't be friends."

"I know." No one really liked to be friends with their ex after their break up, he certainly didn't. "It's just that she and I don't work well as friends."

"Maybe that's why she friend-zoned you," she joked which helped lighten the mood.

She loved the way he laughed, she missed seeing it and when she did it brought back many emotions. Emotions she had completely forgotten about. Ones she hadn't known she'd felt before.

"I'm glad I dated you, Maya," he confessed to her which caught her off guard. "You mean a lot to me."

She ran a hand through her hair and smiled, "I mean a lot to most people."

Josh stared at her and nodded. He didn't know what he was feeling but for a moment it felt like old times. At the beginning of their relationship, he would walk to her home and they would hang out for hours. They used to kiss a lot but then they stopped. And that's when they started to drift apart. It wasn't because of the kissing, but because he started to have feelings for Missy when he knew he shouldn't, and he felt guilty for it. He just never wanted to admit it.

When their eyes met, something in him didn't want to look away. His eyes trailed from her eyes to her lips. He could basically feel their kiss even if it had been a long time.

He found himself leaning in to kiss her and as soon as they touched, he refused to stop kissing her. He brought himself closer to her and kissed her in a way they had never kissed before. His hand touched her cheek and so many memories came back to him.

It was impossible to stop. He wouldn't have stopped if it hadn't been for Maya's head tilt.

He sat back down on his seat and opened her door, "I had to know," he said before getting off the car.

Maya watched him go. She was speechless and she could barely wrap her mind around their kiss. It didn't pain her to accept that she wasn't over him, she didn't hate it one bit, but one thing that did concern her was if he did or did not like her back. Sure their kiss answered her question, but what he said after it, didn't.

When he was gone, Maya drove away.

And she felt like she was close to a happiness she had not felt in a while.

And that happiness was Josh.

 **–**

Meeting someone meant starting a new relationship. It meant that someone has now entered your life for a purpose. That purpose will either teach you something, break something, or stay. It will stay at your worst and guide you, or leave at your worst and destroy you.

And sometimes, it leaves only to came back and fix everything.

This is what described Anthony and Matías. Even though they were confusing and great, or toxic and thrilling, they always felt something they knew would help them through their worst moments.

But as Matías stared at him, his touseled hair and light eyes, his half broken face expression, he didn't know what to do. His hand was still on the knob, only his grip was tighter and his hands were sweating. They looked at each other and Matías realized that there was something different about Anthony. He looked better and it was clear to him that he had been taking care of himself.

"Can I come in?" he asked. His voice broke.

Matías stepped back and let him in. As they stood inside, neither of them knew what to do. They were both thinking of something they didn't want to tell the other about but eventually would. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to talk to you." It didn't take a genius to understand why he was there. He was there so that they could talk about what they did and why they were mad at each other. The guilt was eating Anthony so he felt like it was time they talk. So that they could put this argument behind them and move forward.

Matías had been waiting for the moment to be able to explain his side of the story and why he did it. When he walked into that bathroom, he had seen a side of Anthony he thought did not exist. He was scared to admit that he felt afraid of him.

"I did it because I knew you didn't mean it," he spoke. "I know that you are not violent. I may not know why it happened, but I don't need to because whatever it was, you didn't mean for it to happen. That's all that matters. I know you, I know you," he repeated, his voice was hoarse and low, the way it did when he felt emotional. "That's all that mattered."

"I came to tell you you were right," Anthony looked into his when he said this. He knew it would mean so much more to Matías if he did. "I don't have a good past, I am not a good person, but I feel regret. I feel pain and hurt, I feel sadness and loss...and seeing you cover a mistake I made... it made me angry because you wouldn't have done it if it wasn't because of me. I brought you into this."

Matías didn't think that was true. Anthony told him to leave many times, to stop what he was doing and to run out of the bathroom and tell someone of the incident. But instead he stayed and changed everything - at his own will.

"You were his friend and I made you choose between him and me," Anthony continued. "I shouldn't have. I should've left it alone because even though we were falling apart before, we didn't break until I confronted you about it."

"You were upset, it's understandable," Matías defended him. "I was the one that avoided you, I ignored you - "

"Stop," he interrupted. "It's not your fault."

"It doesn't matter. No one needs to be blamed for this," he said. He stopped speaking for a while but then he remembered something that he's been wanting to talk to him about for a while now, "You once told me that I created my own reality - "

"Matías - " he began but was was cut off. He remember the day he said that. They were arguing in his room and he only said that because he was angry.

"I did something illegal," he deadpanned which stopped Anthony from speaking. "I broke the law. And the irony is that I always wanted to follow my brother's footsteps and become a detective. They're the ones that stop crime and I covered one up."

Anthony sat down next to him when he felt it was safe to do so. When he felt they had gotten passed the arguing. "We'll move on from this," he promised. "If we can survive Kayla, we can survive this."

"I don't know if we will. This was our own mistake."

"We _will_ get through this," he said as he turned to look at him. Matías eyes were tearing up and he looked like he wanted to turn back time just so that he prevent their mistake from ever happening. "Trust me."

They say that you know in your heart the moment you fall in love with someone. They say that it's natural and a feeling that overwhelmes you with a wave of energy that brings out the best in you.

And it did. It does.

It brings out the best in you even at its worst moments.

Matías was in the middle of speaking when he felt it. When Anthony had silenced him with a kiss. He didn't kiss back until he realized it was exactly what he needed. He knew it was something he wanted and when it finally happened, he felt safe. He felt human.

His lips were soft and warm. It was the only thing that felt right to him.

They stopped kissing and Anthony looked into his eyes as if it was for the very first time. They didn't say anything, they just stared.

And then they kissed.

 **–**

"I don't get it," Geb said as he cleaned the kitchen table. His brother was in the bathroom taking a bath and he left the door wide open so it would be easier to hear him in case he did. "Why do you want to go back?"

"Because," Seth began. They were still talking over the phone and he was getting tired of constantly having to explain to him why he wanted to go back. "I don't trust that they are there."

"What do you mean?" he questioned. "They've been buried no one knows about it, but us."

"Not just us," he said which confused Geb. "I told Maya about the flash drives. I told them where they were, but not exactly where she could find them. I don't trust her anymore and I feel like she's capable of digging them herself."

"Beb," his younger brother called out. Since it was still hard for him to actually say 'Geb' he resorted to calling him Beb instead. "Where's my dinosaur?"

"I'll bring it in a second," he said. "Look, we'll go dig them up again. Just give me an hour so that I can call Eden's babysitter."

"Aight," he responded but it sounded like he stopped midway.

"What?" Geb asked.

"Check Sarah's _Snapchat_ story," he responded in a way that made him curious to know.

"Why?"

"Just do it!"

"Which Sarah? I have like twenty of them."

"Cardinale," he answered. "The one that goes to our school."

He did as told and watched her story. As soon as he clicked on the circle, he could see a video of two people staring deeply into each other's eyes before laughing and then sharing a kiss. The caption read ' _We been knew'_ with two heart eye emojis.

Geb felt his heart sink and his eyes water. For a second he almost forgot how to speak. He was hurt by this because the two people in the video were Riley and Lucas. He could remember the times Riley used to kiss him that way.

He didn't believe what he was seeing so he went to see the video once more. His eyes traveled to Lucas and he felt his jaw tighten. Lucas stared at Riley with an adoration he knew all too well. He could see the same type of love he had for Riley, in Lucas' eyes.

"Geb," Seth spoke trying to get his attention. It was clear to him that he had seen the video and was caught by surprise. "Are you good?"

He grunted, "Yeah. We'll talk later."

 **–**

Riley and Lucas shared a tub of ice cream and watched Ice Age together. Normally Lucas wouldn't like doing stuff like that, but with Riley, he didn't mind anything at all. He took every opportunity he had to be able to touch her or kiss her. As she rested her head on his shoulder and slipped the spoon full of ice cream into her mouth, Riley realized that she felt at home with Lucas.

She didn't like comparing her relationship now, to the one she had with Geb, but it was how she knew she was safe this time. It took weeks for her to be able to reach this level of comfort with Geb, it only took a couple of days with Lucas.

She looked up to look at him and when their eyes met, he kissed her.

Soon after the movie came to an end, Lucas stood up from the sofa and looked at her. "I have to go."

"No," she grabbed onto his hand and pulled him back. "Stay. We'll watch the second one."

"You don't have the second one recorded," he told her but she refused to let go of his hand.

"I'll find it."

Once he sat back down, she placed her feet on his laps and smiled. "Did you see what Sarah posted?"

He placed his hand on his forehead, "She's obsessed with us."

"I think it's cute. I mean I didn't like it at first and I thought it was weird, but now I sort of like it. I mean she's not creepy about it either, it's a healthy kind of obsession."

Lucas massaged her legs, "I guess it's okay. I mean now that everybody knows, going back to school on Monday is going to be different."

She nodded, "Do you really have to go?"

He stood up and kissed her, "I'll call you before you fall asleep."

"Don't forget. I get scared because I'm home alone, remember?"

"I won't forget," he said before walking out of her house. She knew that she was easily scared and he didn't want her to. So he told her he would call her every night until she fell asleep and it was a promise he had kept and one he will continue to keep.

 **–**

Seth entered his room with the flash drive in his hands a few hours after he spoke with Geb. As soon as he was able to find a babysitter for his little brother, they got in his car and drove to the same place they buried the pictures and drives. It took a while to find them, but once they did, they closed the hole they dug and left.

Geb decided to keep the pictures and Seth kept the flash drives. He sat down in front of his computer and opened the bag which contained the drives. When he was seconds away from connecting them to his computer, he got a text from a friend of his. The text advised that he go to his locker in the school locker room to pick up his things. Since he wasn't allowed to play any sports for the remaining year, everything must be cleaned out. He had a few weeks to do it but he didn't want to. He hated that he wasn't allowed to do and it angered him.

He walked to his school which wasn't far from where he lived. The door to the boy's locker room was open and when he entered, the room was empty. It was quiet.

He entered the pin on his lock and brought his clothes out.

It felt surreal to him because playing sports was his ticket out of high school. Sure, his grades mattered too, but if one thing would help him graduate, it was sports. College scouts were already looking into him and he disappointed them when his suspension was announced.

As he looked into his equipment, he grew curious as to how he even ended up in this situation. He knew what he had done to Riley played a huge part of it, but he always wondered how she was able to get hold of the book they had hidden.

Only his friends knew where it was at and neither of them would ever tell Riley because of their personal stories.

He grew confused and it took a hold of him. He sat down on the bench near him and fell into a pensive mood.

There was no way she could've found out by herself. She would've had to be extremely lucky if she did.

He then realized that Anthony was in the locker room when Riley confronted him. He tried to convince himself that he wouldn't betray them like that, but then he remembered that Anthony didn't even hang out with them. He completely cut them off to hang out with Matías and sometimes he would hang out with Lucas.

It started to make sense to him.

Anthony knew where the book was hidden, he was the only one that refused to write in it and they used to tease him for it but they didn't realize that he was thinking about the amount of trouble they could get in if they were caught.

He helped Riley because he felt sorry for her.

Seth clenched his jaw and balled his fists. Because of Anthony, he was placed in this position in the first place.

 **–**

When Anthony left Matías' house, he was a lot happier than he thought he would be. They both were. It never occurred to them that they were going to be able to feel that type of way for each other and when they did, it felt like everything in their lives were put into place. Like everything was on it's way to a future they both deserved. One that was surrounded by happiness and safety.

Seeing his parents and his younger sister walk through the door brightened up his day.

"Mijo, we brought you food," his mom spoke. He was in the kitchen working on his homework. Acacia, like always, was very excited and she was jumping up and down.

"We got it!" she squealed. "We got the dress I wanted."

"Really?" Matías asked, he looked over at his parents and gave them the usual same old look. The one where he told them to hold onto their money and to not pay too much for things she begged for.

"Yes," she said jumping up and down. "It's in the bag and you as well as all my friends are only going to see it when the recital comes. Hoooraayyyyy!" she cheered before running up the stairs.

"That was a lot of energy," he laughed and so did his parents.

"She was very picky about the dresses and it wasn't until she found that one that we were finally able to come home," his dad said as he placed the keys on the counter. "We got you a burger."

He reached into the bag and thanked them because he hadn't eaten.

"Did someone come over?" his mother asked noticing the two glass cups on the living room table.

He stared at her blankly and panicked. He knew how to work around any lie he was confronted with, but this time something in his refused to find a lie to tell. "No," he stuttered.

"Okay," she said not caring enough. "Don't go to sleep late."

"I won't," he wiped his forehead when both his parents were gone. Then, a smile overcame him. He started to laugh because he felt happy and nothing seemed to change it.

He didn't care about anything, he just cared that he and Anthony were happy together.

 **–**

Riley and Maya spoke on the phone for over an hour. This was mainly because Maya found out about Riley and Lucas through the _Snapchat_ post and freaked. The reason she didn't see it earlier was that she spent most of her time thinking about Josh. A part of her knew that she liked him, but another part of her couldn't seem to get the kiss out of her head. She thought about how she and Josh would be like if they were to ever date again and how they would act. She started to think about their future and she grew sad because he would be graduating soon. Their schedules wouldn't work out. As she spoke with Riley, she looked at some of her old picture books.

She never grew the strength to throw all the pictures she had of Josh away. They were both photographers and taking pictures of each other became their things. She stumbled upon a picture she had of him that was one of her favorites for short amount of time.

In this picture, he was sitting with his legs crossed and he was smiling towards her. He was handing her a rose and she fell in love with absolutely everything about the image.

Now, as she stared at it, she grew sad.

"Maya," Riley said once she noticed that her best friend hadn't been saying anything. "Maya?"

"I'm still here," she responded and set the photo down.

"Are you okay? You've been very private lately."

Maya decided to tell her about Josh. She told her about his breakup with Missy, their talks, and eventually, she told Riley about their kiss. She realized that she couldn't keep anything to herself especially when it was major. "We kissed, Riley."

"You kissed?" Riley said and placed a hand over her mouth. "How was it? Did you like it?"

"Of course I did," she said, "It's just that I really like him, but at the same time I don't know if he likes me."

"You kissed him?"

"He kissed me," she clarified. "He said he had to know and I don't know what that means."

"What if he wanted to know if he had feelings for you?" Riley suggested. She didn't hear Maya speak so she gave her a few seconds to think about what she was thinking. "If there was an opportunity," she began, "Let's say, there was a chance for you two to date...would you take it?"

Maya looked at the picture of Josh once more, she released a soft smile and set the picture down.

"In a heartbeat," she confessed.

 **–**

Seth came home and set his sports equipment down on his bed. He looked at his bag and then sighed because he was still disappointed about the fact that he wasn't allowed to play any sports. He looked at his computer and sat down on his chair in front of it.

He felt upset because he didn't think Anthony would ever betray them like that. They made a pact to keep every horrible thing they did in the past a secret, and Anthony broke that.

Seth looked at the flash drive on the bag and took a deep breath. He brought one out and inserted the drive into his computer.

One of the reasons he had them buried in the first place was so that he could get rid of all the bad things he did in the past. He wanted to forget but he always knew that a part of him would find himself going back to his old ways.

The flash drive contained a video he once kept on his phone. It was taken their freshman year and he never deleted it because he didn't think of the consequences until he heard of the outcome.

In their freshman year, there was a student named Ruben and he was mentally disabled. He wasn't as challenged as many, but he knew his way around his neighborhood. One day, Seth, Geb, and Anthony spotted him hanging out in a part of their neighborhood that no one really visited and they decided to pick on him.

One thing led to another and Anthony physically hit Ruben. Seth was recording the whole time and he managed to catch the parts where Anthony punched and kicked him.

They ran away, leaving him on the ground and the next day Anthony felt so guilty that he was willing to confess, but both Seth and Geb stopped him. They refused to let him because that meant they could get in trouble. But now, he was planning on using that video for something else.

Anthony broke his promise about keeping their past mistakes a secret.

So Seth felt like breaking his.

 **–**

 **Writers Note: I have never, ever written a story with a same sex couple or same sex love interest and I figured it was time I change that. Athonías has been a trying to be a thing since the very, very beginning of the story. I'm so glad you guys finally get to read this especially since I wrote like like a month ago.** **What do you think about this new information on Anthony? And what do you think Seth means by breaking his promise? Do you guys like Maya and Josh? Let me know what you think and review?**

 **Follow, Favorite and Review**


	25. Chapter 25

**Writers Note: We have NOW passed 100,000 words for this series. AHHH! This is so incredible. Many of you don't know, but this is my first ever story to reach this and I am just so beyond happy to have reached this milestone.**

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

Anthony looked at his phone and saw that Matías hadn't responded. He stood in their backyard just outside of their house getting a clear view of his window. Once he noticed all the lights turn off downstairs and then a light turn off just on the opposite side of the house, his phone went off.

Before he could look at it, Matías opened his window and gestured for him to enter.

He took a deep breath and started to climb the tree just on the side of the house. Once he was on their roof and near his window, he smelled the scent that Matías room was filled with. A smile shaped his lips and as soon as he entered, he pulled him close to him.

"If this is going to become a thing we need to be quiet," he warned. "My parents are heavy sleepers but they somehow have this thing where they just know that we're doing something we shouldn't when they are sleeping."

Anthony smiled and cupped his cheek, "It makes it even more exciting."

When they first kissed they had no idea their relationship would continue without them really having to talk about it. Even though they hadn't labeled themselves as boyfriend and well, boyfriend, Anthony was curious. He wanted to know and he wanted to talk to Matías about it, but he didn't want to ruin what they had.

He didn't know what the outcome of that talk would be like.

As they continued to kiss, Anthony felt his hands lower down to Matías waist. Eventually, he picked him up and set him down on his bed. "Didn't know you had that in you."

"That?" he asked referring to what he just had done. When he saw him nod, he licked his lips, "I can do more you know."

"Really? Like what?"

Anthony looked into his eyes and pecked his lips before sliding off his own shirt.

The look of his nicely defined body was a huge turn on for Matías. He had seen Anthony without it before, but knowing that they were now intimate made it more enjoyable.

"Not bad," Matías said. He didn't like to admit that Anthony could be sexual because he knew it would only make him more confident. He liked being that person and Matías liked seeing him act that way, but his stubbornness interfered.

"Not bad?" he asked. "What about this?"

Anthony grabbed Matías hand and placed it on his chest. He began to lead his hand down to his abs and then to a specific area on his waist - the belt.

"I guess I was wrong."

"You guess?" he questioned. He nodded but Anthony wasn't ready to back down yet, he began to unhinge his belt and slide it off. Once the belt was off, he returned his gaze back to him and raised a brow. "I can go on."

Seeing that Matías wasn't fully convinced yet, he placed his hands on the buttons of his jeans and unbuttoned them.

"You proved your point," he confessed. "You have it in you."

When he said this, Anthony saw the way Matías stiffened. He saw the way his eyes avoided his and he didn't seem all that interested anymore. He couldn't help but think he did something wrong.

"Are you okay?" he got off of him and sat down beside him. "I thought everything was - "

"It is," he interrupted. "I just...I don't want our first time to be like this. I mean we don't even know what we are to each other."

Anthony felt at loss for words because he didn't expect him to be feeling the same thing he was. He thought that ignoring the elephant in the room would eventually get rid of the problem, but he was wrong. "We don't," he agreed.

They didn't look at each other but rather at the floor. Anthony felt a little embarrassed now that his shirt was off.

"I want us to be ... something," he said.

"Something?"

He played with his fingers because a part of him still felt weirded out. He knew it was a process of getting used to it and that it would take time before he got comfortable.

"Here goes nothing," he muttered before turning to Matías. "Here's the deal, I like you. You're hot. I've been attracted to you for a really long time and I knew I cared for you. It wasn't until we kissed that I realized how I cared for you. I have become a better person because of you and there's only one thing to do and that is...will you be my boyfriend?"

Matías blinked as he processed the words Anthony was saying. He felt his heart warm up and a huge smile arise. When he realized that Anthony had asked him out, he jumped towards him and kissed him. This time, Matías was on top of him.

"Wait," he pulled from the kiss. "If we're going to date, I want complete honesty. Is there something you need to tell me? Anything you need to get off your shoulders before we ..."

"Nope," Anthony said. He didn't have anything secrets to tell him. "You?"

Matías searched for any lies or secrets that could potentially ruin their relationship. There wasn't any. "You already know all my secrets."

"Holy shit," Anthony smiled. He stared at the person in front of him and felt proud, "Matías Reyes, my first boyfriend."

"Sounds right," he smiled before leaning in to kiss him.

 **–**

Winter Week had begun and the first thing on the students must wear list was red and white to represent candy canes. Anthony and Matías had agreed to keep their relationship a secret at school but outside of it and in private, they were so much more.

He felt the staring subside. After the incident with James, he had felt like an outcast. Everybody treated him like one. He lost many friends and a few don't even talk to him anymore.

James was still in a coma and he hadn't woken up yet. Although everyone at school now had a different point of view on him, it didn't stop him from feeling happy. He liked that Matías was capable of changing all of that.

Riley was standing in a different hall from Anthony. She was by her locker replacing some of the books in her backpack with the books in her locker. When she closed it, she noticed that Lucas was standing right beside her. His eyes on hers. "You look good."

She fixed her hair and smiled, "I know I do."

For the first time in their relationship, Lucas extended his hand for her to take. She looked at him and took it.

Riley felt happy now that he had done this. It meant that they were comfortable with each other enough to publicly display their relationship.

As Maya walked to her class, she noticed both Lucas and Riley holding hands. She felt a smile frame her lips but that smile quickly ended when she saw that Missy had hugged Josh.

A part of her felt like something had been physically ripped out of her chest. She stared at them for a few seconds and the smile on Josh's face was enough to make her tear up. He looked absolutely happy with Missy and it was foolish of her to think that they would be happy with themselves.

 **–**

"Geb," Seth said as soon as he spotted him on the other side of the hallway. They were in between passing periods which meant that almost every single student was outside in the hallways. He made his way around and was successfully able to reach him. "Guess what."

"What is it?" he asked looking at him. There was something in his mood that made it seem like he had important news to tell him.

"I found out who it was," he confessed. "I know who helped Riley find the book."

"The book," he questioned but then it hit him. Seth was talking about the list they had of all the girls in the school. They would label them by their assets. "Who was it?" he asked. The words naturally rolled out his tongue.

"It was Anthony," Seth confessed. "He's the one."

Geb didn't believe it at first. He thought that Seth was just messing with him, but the look on his face said something else. It didn't make sense but then he started mentioning that Anthony had not been hanging out with them for the longest time and that he sometimes spoke with Lucas. He didn't even talk to them anymore.

"Are you sure? I mean there's a chance but - "

"I know it was him," he deadpanned. "He's the only one that didn't participate in it. Remember? We would tell him to, but he refused."

"Holy shit," Geb cursed under his breath. He had doubts before but now he was fully convinced. "What do we do? Beat him up?"

"I have a better idea," he reached into his backpack and pulled out the flash drive he was holding onto the day before, "Remember the video we took of Anthony beating up Ruben?"

"Ruben? Who the fuck is that?"

"Disabled Ruben? Learning disability? Anthony used to mock him all the time and it was funny? Remember?"

He clenched his jaw because that had to be one of the worst things they ever did, "What about it?"

"I have it. It's in here."

Geb narrowed his eyes towards the drive. If Seth shared the same idea they had, that meant they could someday use the video against him. He smirked, "You're fucking brilliant."

 **–**

During lunch, Riley and Lucas decided to go to a nearby pizza place. She knew that they were still pretty new in their relationship, but it didn't feel like it. She felt like they had been in a relationship for months now and that they were comfortable with each other.

She watched as he took a bite of his pizza and looked into his phone, it brought a smile to her lips because she loved the way he ate. It was weird but not for her.

Lucas knew that he was being stared at by her. He didn't stop her because he thought that it was cute. "Why don't you take a picture?" he joked.

She playfully rolled her eyes and bit her pizza, "Don't get too flattered."

Lucas finished eating so he threw away his plate, as he sat back down on their table, he couldn't help but ask Riley about something that had been picking at him for a while now. "Has Geb tried speaking to you?"

Riley was not expecting to hear what he said. She tried to play it off like she didn't hear him, but she knew she couldn't. Her eyes met his and she could see a look on him that she hadn't see before.

"He's been texting me here and there, but I don't answer."

Lucas scoffed and clenched his jaw, "I don't want you talking to him."

"I know and trust me, I don't either. But I learned that he tends to give up so I just need to ignore him."

"You've been ignoring him for months now, he's even more obsessed with you."

Riley stood up from her chair and sauntered towards him, she knew how to ease his concerns so she took advantage of it. Grabbing his hand and kissing his cheek, she spoke, "If he tries to physically talk to me again I will tell you and you have every right to handle it in any way you can, is that a good deal?"

A smile broke out on his lips and he touched her hand, "I'll accept," he uttered before they walked out.

 **–**

Maya didn't have anything to do for lunch so she decided to head to the art room. It was something she did and her teacher always left the room open during school hours just in case she wanted to visit. As she entered the school's hallway, she noticed that it was empty. Lunch had barely started which meant everybody was out of campus. She noticed that only one person was near their locker and that person was Josh.

She didn't know what to do. At some point she would need to walk past him, Now that they kissed, Maya had tried to picture the many ways they could talk. She decided to convince herself the kiss didn't happen but it was no use. It was all she thought about.

She wasn't too far from him when he brought something out of his locker. Placing it in his backpack seemed to annoy him because he took a deep sigh. Slamming his locker shut, he balled his fists and proceeded to hit the locker as hard as he could.

Maya stopped walking, but she didn't know what to do.

"Josh?" she found herself saying. She heard his sigh and when he turned around to look at her, he crouched down and took in a deep breath.

"I'm okay," he trained himself to say it often.

Maya knew he was lying so she sat down next to him. The smile she saw before was gone and something was hurting him.

"I just wanted to protect her," he said. Maya figured it was Missy who he was speaking about. "That's all I wanted."

"It's not what she wanted," the blonde confirmed. It was almost easy to place herself in Missy's shoes because Maya experienced the same thing she did. "When she and I first got the text we didn't realize we would become pawns in a game that would escalate the way it did. We didn't realize that this was serious until we found Lauren's body. Missy just doesn't want to live her life constantly having to look over her shoulder every time she's alone."

"That's what the police are for," he tried to argue.

"Josh, I'm gonna ask you a serious question," she told him and adjusted herself on the ground. "Who caught Kayla?"

"The detective," he answered and was surprised when she shook her head.

"Matías," came the answer he never expected. "He found out before everyone else did and that was because the police didn't get there in time to arrest her."

He leaned his head back and placed his hands on his face.

"You can't blame her for being scared or for wanting to find him," Maya hoped that this would help him realize that he doesn't have to be heartbroken. Sure, it would take time to heal, but it could also bring him to an understanding of why Missy wanted to know who the man was. "I'm sorry you guys broke up...but that doesn't mean you lost her."

Maya was going to say something else but she stopped when she realized Josh was crying. She had never seen him cry before. She hugged him and somehow felt broken that he was this hurt by the breakup. Their eyes met and she tried to wipe the tears trailing down his eyes, but something else caught both of their attention. It wasn't how torn apart they both were, it wasn't that they had finally talked in a long time. It was because the last time they were this close they were going to kiss each other. The memories they shared both came back to them and for just a moment, there was connection they both felt.

He stood up and extended his arm for her to take.

Their eyes met once again. He tried to form the right words to tell her he was grateful. "Just because we broke up doesn't mean I lost her, right?" he said and placed a hand on her cheek.

Maya gave him a nod and watched as he walked away. She never thought that she would be the one to help him get over a breakup.

 **–**

"Did you get enough sleep?" Matías asked seeing that Anthony was dozing off. They made out for at least a few hours and talked for more. It wasn't until two in the morning that he decided to head home.

"What?" he asked. He didn't hear him because he was on the verge of completely dozing off. Hearing Matías laugh made him smile, "I'm just tired."

"Because you left late," Matías reminded. "I told you this was going to happen."

"I don't care," he looked around and saw that no one was in sight. "But I'm down to do it again in case you want to."

Anthony's hand wrapped around his waist and pecked his lips. He licked his lips and kissed him again, and again, and again. "You're the best thing that has happened to me."

Matías looked at him for a few seconds trying to process what he had just said. Especially since Anthony had whispered it into his ears in a seductive way that sent chills up and down his back.

Seeing Anthony's face made him all the happier and now that they were officially together, he felt like his life was heading somewhere good.

And that was because of him.

"And that's how you make me happy," he said and they kissed.

 **–**

Missy went to the first place she thought she could find any clues that lead to Lauren's murder. She was deeply convinced that Bayard had not killed Lauren. There was no way he did, and the only way she could prove that was by looking into Lauren's and Bayard's past.

She walked into the library determined to find something or anything that could prove her right. If she showed, Lucas or Maya they would both help her and so would Riley. Together they made a perfect team.

She knew that Lauren's murder happened over two decades ago and that she could have been on a date. If she found any yearbooks or pictures of any of her life at school or friends, she would be able to know more.

Some of the teachers at school who knew about Lauren and were her friends or her actual teacher have refused to talk to Missy. They all say that she shouldn't be worried about it and that she should focus on her school work, but she wasn't going to listen.

As she searched for the yearbooks in the school's library, her phone went off and when she brought it into view, she saw that a message came from an unknown number.

The message was a video.

And the video was of her; walking into the library she was in.

She returned to the front of the library and looked in the direction the video was taken. There was no one.

"I knew it," she whispered. "I knew it! You're still here."

 **–**

 **Writers Note: Thank you so, so, so much for reading and I hope you have an amazing day. Always feel free to let me know what you think because it is a thing I look forward too. What do you think Maya and Josh's relationship will be know that she has helped him many times? Do you ship Anthony and Matías? And who do you think sent Missy that video?**

 **Follow, Favorite, and Review**


	26. Chapter 26

**...**

 **Junior Year**

Missy touched the door knob on her front door for the fifth time that night. She was making sure it was locked before she went to bed. She knew deep down in her mind that every door in her house was locked, as well as every window, but a part of her couldn't help but double check. She walked back to her room upstairs and made sure the window in her room was locked and that the curtain was covering it completely.

She layed down on her bed and turned to look at the lamp on her nightstand. As she did so, she saw a picture she kept of herself and her two friends. Nina and Kayla. She picked it up and brought it closer to her in order to get a better view of it. The memory was permanently placed in her brain because it was one of the few times she remembered herself being happy.

They were on a morning hike and the sunrise was incredible. They waited minutes and minutes for someone to pass by and the second someone did, they asked for them to take a picture.

She remembered that day so perfectly because it was a day that they were all so incredibly happy. Nothing had happened. No one had died, no one became a murderer, everything was great.

The memory only brought sadness to Missy. She only kept the picture because without it she was completely lost. They were her best friends no matter what.

She placed the picture back to where it belonged and closed her eyes.

 **–**

Riley had been cleaning her room the entire day. She decided that her things had been piling up for the longest time now that it began to look like she was a hoarder. As she brought out the boxes in her room, she decided that more than half of her things would be going in the basement. She looked further into her closet and saw that she had a box with the words _Open with MAYA_ written all over it. She quickly yelled her name because the blonde was downstairs.

She came immediately and sat down beside her.

"Do you remember this box?" Riley asked and the blonde shook her head no.

"Why are you cleaning?"

"My room is messy. Plus, my parents and Auggie are coming home soon. But that doesn't matter, what matters is this," she picked up the box and shook it. "We made it in the sixth grade. We said we would open it when we're married but hey, it's been five years I think it's fair we open it now."

Maya clapped her hands as she saw that she was about to dive into memory lane with her best friend.

The brunette opened the box and brought out a whole bunch of picture albums she made when she was younger. She saw that Maya had opened it as soon as she set it down. The more she looked into the box the more and more she realized the memories she had not thought about in the longest time.

She brought out a picture she had found when she was younger. Her dad had taken it when he used to teach in the elementary school she was in. "Do you remember Ms. Stenson?" she asked.

"Hated her," the blonde said flatly. "I called her Ms. Stencil on purpose just so she could get angry."

Riley brought out one picture she never knew existed. In the picture, she could see her younger self speaking to Maya while on the other distance, Nina and Geb were smiling. They must've been seven years old in this picture.

She didn't tell Maya or make a big deal out of it, but instead, she made sure it was hidden. She didn't want to throw it away but rather place it back where it was and forget about it all over again.

 **–**

"To be clear I said I was hungry because I was, it wasn't an excuse I made so that I could see you so don't get all happy because of it," Matías told Anthony. He was sitting on the drivers seat and they were on their way to In N Out to eat.

"It's _my_ excuse," Anthony smiled at him. When he saw the text he knew it was the perfect excuse to see him and to spend time with him. He had been wanting to see him for a while now and since he had the money, he wanted to spend it on him.

"Good," Matías sheepishly smiled. "You're the only one that knows I'm a much better person when I'm not hungry."

As Anthony's drove, his hand left the steering wheel so that it could intertwine with Matías'. He looked at him for split second behind returning his attention back to the road. He could hear his chuckle and it warmed his heart.

Matías had never seen him act this way which completely surprised him. He liked it. "I'm not gonna lie, I'm a bit surprised you're the romantic one."

"I love being the romantic one," he confirmed. His gaze turned to him and he winked at him.

Once they got their food, Anthony didn't let Matías eat until they got to their destination which was only ten minutes away. He stopped the car in the middle of a dirt road and got out of it.

"Why are we stopping here? It's about to be eleven." Matías asked as he watched Anthony set the food down in the front of the car and sit.

"Look up," he instructed and when he did so, he saw the stars.

"Not bad," Matías said and joined him. "It's beautiful."

"It is."

Time went by and they ate their food. They laughed, they talked, they kissed, held hands, they did anything two people in a relationship would. As they finished eating, Anthony placed the extra napkins and food back into the bag but stopped Matías from walking back inside the car. "I want to ask you something," he said. "Come."

"It's late. If my mom wakes up and walks into my room, I'm toast."

"Just come here," he smiled and extended his arm to he could take it.

Matías didn't want to. He wanted to go home, but, eventually, he obliged. "Ask me what?" he questioned and joined him.

"Um..." Anthony chuckled because he felt weird asking him. Eventually, he gathered the energy to do so. "Would you ever want people to know about us? That we're in a relationship?"

Matías was not expecting to be asked this and the truth was, he didn't know. He thought about it, but he didn't want to talk about it because he feared it would ruin what they had. He looked at Anthony and realized how much of a great guy he was. If he was anything like this, if he made him feel this happy, he didn't want it to end. He smiled, but then looked away from him. "I've thought about it many times."

"I have too. And if I'm being honest with you, I want people to know. I want people to know that we're dating."

He turned to look at him and smiled. He couldn't help but this of the day he met Anthony. Of the day they bonded for the first time ever. He knew that Anthony was his happy place. His favorite person. "I do too..." he confessed. "...someday."

"What do you mean someday?"

"I'm not ready to tell people right now," the smile on Anthony's face slowly faded. "I feel like part of the reason we are so comfortable with each other is because people don't know about us," Matías told him. "One day, and I promise you, people _will_ know about us...but the day has yet to come."

Anthony nodded because he respected this. He didn't want to hide who he was or who he was dating for the rest of his life and he was glad Matías felt the same way. He grabbed his hand once more and kissed it. He did this before kissing his cheek and then his lips.

"You mean a lot to me."

"And you mean a lot to me."

 **–**

 **Can I come over?** Lucas' text read.

Riley looked at Maya who was sitting right beside her on the couch. She was having a great time and she didn't want to ruin it. She typed back her response and told Lucas that maybe he could come over some other time.

 **Some other time?** **Tomorrow?**

She told him that it's a date and turned off her phone. "You have the snacks ready?" she asked Maya who placed the large bowl of popcorn in between them and then brought out the Kit-Kats and Reeces.

"Locked and loaded," she responded.

Riley and Maya were preparing to watch old home videos of themselves when they were really young. Her dad used to chase her around with a camera in order to capture every moment. She pressed play on the video and immediately saw Cory. He was adjusting the camera before he walked towards Riley who was only months old. Another video showed Riley and Maya running around the apartment. They were five and Topanga was trying to get a hold of them.

 _"Cory, why don't you put the camera down and help me catch the other one?" she told him._

Riley and Maya both laughed.

"She was talking about you," Riley told her.

The more and more they watched the videos, the more and more Riley missed her childhood. She wanted to go back to those times where everything was perfect and when she did not know a thing about high school. The only thing that changed her mind was the fact that she didn't know Lucas then.

In a separate video, Riley was at school and during recess, she ran towards the park. Elementary school had to be her favorite mainly because of the park. She loved it. As she stepped over a bar, she tripped and landed on all fours.

A little boy ran up to help her. When she was standing up again, he smiled and walked away.

"Was that - ?" Maya asked but she didn't have the strength to say his name.

"Geb," Riley finished. "It was him."

"Wow," Maya placed the strand of hair on the back of her ear. "Even then he had a crush on you."

"Next video," Riley said as she skipped onto the next.

Riley and Maya sat on the kitchen table and Josh was there. They were eating cereal and they talked about their sleepover.

 _"Josh, how did you sleep?"_

 _"Good," he responded._

 _"And you, Maya?" Corey turned the camera towards her. "Maya? Maya?"_

The blonde was completely lost in Josh's eyes. She was so lost that she didn't hear her name being called.

 _"Maya?"_

 _"Huh?" her younger self responded. "I was just...good. I slept great."_

"Oh my..." Riley began to laugh. "That right there has to be the most hilarious thing I've seen."

"Stop," Maya covered her face in embarrassment. "Promise me you won't show him this?"

Riley didn't hear her because she was still laughing. She fixed herself on the couch in order to stare at her. "Do you still have feelings for him?" she asked. She knew her best friend and she felt like there was something going on between them.

Maya debated on telling her, but she couldn't lie to her. In fact, Maya was relieved she asked this. "I do."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Maya filled her in on the story and told her about the kiss as well as his breakup with Missy. By the end of the day, Riley was already caught up on everything. They ended up talking for a few hours and before they knew it, it was already late.

"Just know that because there are feelings there," Riley began, "It doesn't have to change what you guys have right now."

Maya nodded because she liked the advice. Right now she and Josh were at a good place and she didn't want a relationship or their feelings to change that.

 **–**

It was sudden for Missy. Even though the creak was small, she heard it. It came from downstairs and she immediately gripped the bat on the side of her bed. A few seconds later, her phone went off and she grabbed it.

The message came from an unknown number.

When she opened it, her eyes widened. The message contained a picture of her house.

 **Who are you?** She asked. It was her first time responding to the message.

Shortly after sending the message, her front door opened and then closed. "Shit." she cursed and got out of bed. She walked down the stairs very, very slowly with her bat in her hand and her phone on the other.

No one was downstairs. She searched the house and when she found the opened door, she locked it. On her way towards the stairs, she saw something on the dinner table.

From a distance, she didn't know what it was. But as she got closer she saw that it was an envelope. The envelope was addressed to her.

The letter read:

 **Fool Me Once Shame on You, Fool Me Twice...**

 **Shame on Me...**

* * *

 **Writers Note: How do you guys feel about Anthony and Matías? Ship or dip? And it looks like Missy is starting to get a lot on her plate?**

 **Follow, Favorite, and Review**


	27. Chapter 27

**Writers Note: Double updated tonight. I will be posting two chapters because I won't be able to next week and the week after that. Again and always, thank you so much for reading.**

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

Maya was walking down the hall when she felt a cold arm behind her. It led her into the girl's bathroom and when she turned to look at who's arm it belonged to, she saw Missy. Missy looked tired and she looked like she hadn't slept.

"Woah, what happened?"

"The way I look doesn't matter," she began, "What matters is this?"

"What is it?" She knew it was a letter, but she didn't know what was written inside it and she didn't know why it was important.

"He's back," the brunette almost felt herself cry. "He was inside my house yesterday and he left this."

Maya furrowed her brows and took the letter. Part of her was searching for a lie or maybe a prank, but she knew Missy would never lie about it. She read what was inside it and quickly put the letter back inside the envelope. "Why is he back? Why now?"

"I don't know, but let's do this. Let's catch this guy because I am so scared. I don't want to be his victim and we can't go to the police this time."

She grabbed her hands and nodded, "We came close to doing it last time. We'll try this time. All of us."

This made Missy feel better. She hugged Maya and as they hugged, she noticed that the light from the bathroom was leaving a mark on the letter that she had not noticed before. As they released their grip, she sauntered towards it and brought the letter out from the envelope. "What's this? It was there before?"

The blonde took the letter and aimed it higher at the light. She turned to look at Missy, "It's a map."

 **–**

"As I was saying," Matías began once he started noticing that Anthony wasn't really paying attention to him. He snapped his fingers so that he knew he was talking. "Since Winter Formal is coming up, you can pick me up from my house but that means - "

"Woah," Anthony raised his hands in defense. "I haven't even asked you yet."

"Really?" Matías questioned, his voice disinterested in what Anthony had said. He stapled a flyer for the dance in one of the hallways of their school because it was his job as part of student government.

"I want to ask you in the best way possible," he smiled and placed his hands on his backpack straps. "But, of course, no one can know we're together together so I'll ask you when we're alone. Sound good?" His voice was soft and calming.

Matías returned to his task and Anthony followed shortly behind him, he grabbed onto his forearm in order to stop him from getting too far. "Your sister's piano recital is coming up, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's not that far from today."

"Can I still come?" he asked with a charming grin.

Matías nodded. "Of course you can come."

As soon as he said that, Seth walked passed them and nudged Anthony. He took them by complete surprise.

"What was that for?" he asked him, but he responded with shrug.

"I don't know."

 **–**

Maya and Missy searched for a book that contained a map of the school. She searched in multiple places but they were unsuccessful. After half an hour of searching, they narrowed it down to one section.

Which was the one they were in.

Maya found maps of the city, but none of the school that matched the one on the letter. As she searched, she noticed the silence between them. She didn't know what caused it and it didn't take long before she found out.

"So you and Josh...?" Missy began, her eyes were on the book only.

She furrowed her brows because she didn't know what that meant. "We're just friends," she felt the need to say. She couldn't afford to have Missy think bad about her. It was the last thing she wanted and needed.

Missy closed the book after she saw that it wasn't useful. "I just want you to know that it's okay. I am okay with it. I broke up with him so I shouldn't care, right?"

"Well, you don't have to stop caring. I mean don't you want to see Josh with someone who won't take him for granted?"

"Obviously I'm going to care. He was my first real relationship, but he's his own person. I think he can manage his own decisions."

The book Maya was holding was old, but the structure of the buildings on the pictures looked familiar. "I think this is it," she pointed out. "See the map on the letter looks just like it."

"But where is this map located?" Missy placed her index finger on the thin sepia colored paper and followed the letters. "The basement."

"Are you doing anything for lunch?"

"No," she responded.

"Well," Maya sighed. "We are now."

 **–**

"So, I was thinking about the chorus and what I could do," Lilly, Acacia's partner for the recital spoke. "I know we already have something planned, but I wanted to change something up. Do you know the part where I jump in the air?" she asked and Acacia nodded. "Well, I was hoping maybe I could do a back stand and if we time it perfectly it will match the flow of the song."

Lily was skinny and pretty, it was the most obvious thing about her. She had a very nice body but most importantly, she was smart. She was going somewhere with her life. It was like she had mapped out her road to becoming a successful woman. Acacia envied her because of it.

"That's great," she agreed even though she didn't really think about it. She trusted her completely because was a good dancer. Acacia returned her complete attention to the few notes on her own music notebook. She was her biggest critic so everything she thought was flat or needed work on was written onto her notebook to better her own talent.

"Hey, how did you get this piano in here?" Lily pointed with a smile on her lips. "The music room is on the other side of campus."

Acacia smiled as well, "Funny story - " she stopped talking because she heard the door open to the dancing studio open. She turned her head in the direction of the door and her eyes widened.

It was Kaden who had entered. The first thing she noticed was the shirt he wore, she bought it for him a few months before the breakup. Lily stood up and patted the dust off of her tights, "I hope you don't mind, but I asked him to come over."

Acacia did mind, but she didn't show it. Kaden was her ex. They dated for months and months and he broke up with her because she was focusing too much on her recital. Now he was dating Lily.

"Hey," he said. He was standing near them and she could smell his scent, it made her heart churn.

"Hey, babe," she walked up to him and hugged him, placing a kiss on his cheek.

Seeing this hurt her more.

"Hey," he said to Acacia. Their eyes met for the first time in a really, really long time. "It's good to see you."

She nodded at him.

"Should we give it another go?" Lily suggested as she wrapped her hair in a bun. "Recital is only a couple of days from now."

The brunette stood up and walked towards the piano which wasn't too far from where she stood. A part of her felt like Kaden's eyes were on hers. As she sat down on the piano and started touching the keys, she stared at Kaden briefly and saw that he was staring at her.

Her gaze quickly left his.

This continued throughout the entire performance. This time, in particular, when their eyes met she froze. She stopped playing the piano and Lily turned to her. "Acacia, are we good?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

Her feelings for Kaden were very much still there.

 **–**

Lucas drove to Poet's and Riley was in the passenger's seat texting away. He tried to peak over to her side, but it seemed as if everytime attempt he made, Riley moved her phone so that he wouldn't see it.

He began to wonder what she was doing on her phone and why that was more important than him.

When he heard her laugh, he reached for her phone and threw it to the back seat.

"What the hell?" she asked him. "What was that for?"

"I've been driving in this car for five minutes and not once have you talked to me."

Riley was angry at first, but then she chuckled. She thought it was cute that he was upset because she wasn't paying attention to him. "Is my little boyfriend jealous?" she said and squeezed his cheek.

"Stop," he moved her hand to the side and parked the car in front of Poets. "I just...you're not talking to another guy, are you?"

She furrowed her brows, "Why would I - ?"

"I don't know," he gave a half shrug. "I saw Geb today, he was staring at you."

"So that's why you accuse me of cheating?" she retorted.

He realized that he had offended her without trying. "I wasn't - "

"I'm not," her answer was firm and strong. "I was texting Matías. Winter Formal is coming and he was sending me pictures of dresses I should wear and they were all ugly. He was doing it on purpose to make me laugh."

"I"m sorry," he apologized. "I just..."

She got out of the car and walked inside the cafe. Lucas followed after. She sat down on the table in the corner and Lucas stayed by the door. He decided it was the best time or order their food so that she had time to cool down.

After he did, he joined her. She refused to look at him. "I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have said it."

"You shouldn't have," Riley agreed with him.

Lucas extended his hand and when she finally concluded that she couldn't be mad at him, she took his hand. "I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?"

He kissed her hand for further convincing.

"Lucas the first time I saw you and Harper talking, we weren't necessarily friends. It really hurt my feelings, but ever since then, I've learned to trust you. And I want you to trust me."

"I do." He said. "I promise you, I do."

 **–**

"This is where the map leads?" Missy asked Maya as they entered a room in the school's basement. The room was dark and it scared her. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," she confirmed. "Look." She moved the map towards her direction.

Missy looked at it and sighed.

"What's with the sigh?" the blonde asked. She heard her breath fasten and she was wondering if there was something she didn't know about.

"This was the room where Kayla was arrested in," Missy informed. "It was under police restriction for months. It's hard to believe that she had Matías tied to one of these poles."

Maya looked around the room and refused to think about it. Matías had still not told them about that night, he hated that night so much because of what happened. He lost his grandmother that same day as well. "There's nothing in here," she said. "Do you think we have the right room?"

"I think we do."

She turned around to look at Missy. While doing so, she saw something just towards the left of her. Missy's eyes were on it too.

"A rat?" she clarified. The rat was hanging down from a string. The more she looked at it, the more she realized that something was attached to it. It was another letter.

"Well, do you want to open it?"

"No," she said. "I don't want to touch it."

Missy grabbed the corners of the string, the parts that weren't touching the rat. When she managed to remove the letter, she opened it.

 **The Rat and The Elephant: Your Hate One, Admire the Other**

"I don't understand," Maya threw her hands in the air. She was frustrated with this.

"I do," the brunette answered. "I remember Josh telling me about a bedtime story his mother used to tell me about. It was about a rat and an elephant. The rat died at the end of it."

"What does it mean?"

"Well, the story taught him about kindness, but I think this is different. I think that whoever this is, is painting a target on Josh."

"Or Seth," Maya suggested. "I called him a rat when I found out about what he did. When he posted those pictures about Riley."

"So what now?"

"We keep an eye on them," she answered.

* * *

 **Writers Note: Thank you so much for reading. This story is almost going on a break. It will return with brand new chapters that will lead to the finale of the story. No more breaks after this one. I promise. Let me know what you think. I want to hear your thoughts.**

 **Follow, Favorite, and Review**


	28. Chapter 28

**Writers Note: This is the second update for the day before a small temporary break. The chapter is really short compared to everything else I have. There are some small things that reveal secrets about Lauren's murder, that's important. Let me know what you guys think.**

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

"Josh, can we talk?" Maya asked. The last bell has just rung which meant it was time to go home, he was standing right by his locker and he looked dejected in a way.

"About?" he closed his locker and turned to look at her.

She looked around her and saw that the hall was filled with a lot of people. She couldn't risk the chance of someone hearing them. "You'll know if you come with me."

He realized what she wanted to talk about was serious so he nodded. She led him to the football field and they sat near the bleachers. "What is it?"

Maya looked into his eyes and almost felt herself get lost in his eyes, "Look, I have to tell you something and you have to promise me not to take matters into your own hands. We can't involve the police. Not this time - "

"Woah, the police?" he was surprised as to what she had to tell him. "What is it?"

"He's back," she answered him. She waited for a reaction to settle and she only saw confusion take shape.

"What do you mean he's back? How is that possible? Bayard is still in jail."

"Missy was right, Josh...it wasn't Bayard. He didn't kill Lauren, someone else did."

"How exactly do you know he's back?" Josh questioned. He had shifted himself to face her so that his attention was entirely on her.

"Missy got a letter. He was inside her house."

He clenched his jaw because he had a feeling something like this would happen. Threats don't go away unless the police are involved. "Is she okay?"

"She is," the blonde answered, "but she's not great. And she won't be unless this man is caught."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I want you to join us," Maya informed, "We came close to finding him last time."

"We're just high school students. Do you really think we have the potential to find this man?"

"Yes. Especially now. I can research the day Lauren died, I can find out what happened. We can find her parents and talk to them. She died in this town, what makes you think we can't find anything - "

"Because the police didn't - " he cut her off.

His words sunk into her argument and she had nothing to say.

Maya had really thought that he would think differently this time and actually join them. But she was wrong. He didn't want to be part of it. "Okay," she grabbed her backpack and stood up. "I guess I'll see you around."

"Maya," he grabbed her hand in order to stop her from walking away. "Please."

She sat back down on the bleachers and looked at him.

"I'm in."

 **–**

Missy was scared of being the one to tell Josh about the message. She didn't know how she would talk to him or tell him and she spent hours thinking about it. Eventually, she remembered that Maya hated Seth so they switched positions.

She tells Josh and Missy tells Seth.

She used to be friends with him back in their early years of middle school. She forgot what happened between them that lead to the end of their friendship, but she was convinced it must've been something he did.

Seth normally waited in the students parking lot for Geb to drive him home, if she got there fast enough, she would have the chance to talk to him.

"I have to tell you something," she said softly. The light wind was relaxing and it helped dry the sweat in her armpits.

He looked at her for a split second before returning his attention to his phone, "I can't talk right now."

She snapped her fingers in order to his get attention but she was unsuccessful. When he was least expecting it, she reached over, grabbed his phone and snatched it out of his hands.

"What the hell?" he yelled.

"I have to tell you something," she repeated.

"And I can't talk right now."

"Really, but you can text," Missy's gaze traveled to his phone and read the name. "Patricia." She let out a laugh, "An ugly name for an ugly girl."

"What do you want?"

"I got a letter," she explained. "It's from _him_." Missy was sure Seth would know exactly what she was talking about.

He opened his mouth to say something and she listened he said next caught her by complete surprise.

"I don't care," he said. "Now, give me back my phone. You're on your own this time."

Every piece of skin tingled in her body as if she was being poked. She wanted to punch him or hurt him, but she didn't have the strength to do so. Instead of handing his phone back to him, she tossed it to the grass for him to get. Then, she extended her middle finger and walked away.

 **–**

Lucas noticed that Riley was still mad at him for what he said. He knew he had to make it up to her and buying her flowers or chocolates wouldn't work. He had to do something bigger than that and when the idea came to him. He rushed towards her house. Lucas told Riley that he would cook dinner for her. She was still mad but when he said he'd make her favorite food, he knew he had succeeded.

He had placed all the fruits, vegetables, and ingredients in the shopping cart and they were ready to leave. As they waited in line to pay, he looked over at the food in the shopping cart. The more he looked the more he realized he had forgotten something.

The lemons.

"Hey, babe, I'll be back. I forgot something."

She nodded and he walked towards the aisle where they initially got all the fruits.

She expected to wait for no more than two minutes, but when the cashier started scanning all the items and placing them onto bags, Riley decided to go after him. "I'll be right back, it won't take long."

She walked towards the aisle where Lucas was supposed to get the lemons and when she reached it, she stopped because she saw that Lucas was talking to someone. The person he was talking to was an older woman who looked like she was in her forties. Lucas seemed to know her.

Riley decided to ask him about it when they were unloading the groceries. "Who was that woman you were talking to in there?"

"She's Harper's mom," he answered her. "She just wanted to say hello."

 **–**

Matías had only been in Anthony's room. He never got the chance to see anything else. He loved the fact that the aroma in his house smelled just like him.

They talked in the kitchen because he had helped himself to a drink. "Is that your mom?" Matías asked as he looked at the picture of her. The picture rested in the hallway where most did.

"Yeah," he answered.

"You look like her," he said and Anthony smiled. "I'd like to meet her someday."

He made a face and leaned back in his chair, "That's not such a good idea," he opposed.

"Why not?" he was confused and did not know why he would say that. "If you're anything like them then I already know how I am going to feel about them."

Anthony walked over towards him and wrapped his arms around his waist, "They're amazing people, but -"

Matías didn't understand why Anthony didn't want him to meet his parents. He thought that he would be for the idea but he was wrong. He decided to interrupt him before Anthony could tell him why.

"Never mind. It doesn't matter."

There must've been a good reason as to why Anthony wouldn't tell him.

Anthony smiled and leaned his forehead against him. His fingers touched his chin in order so that he could look at him. Then, when their eyes met, he kissed him. Since Anthony was home alone and would be for a few hours, he decided to take the kiss a bit further. His lips traveled from Matías lips to his collarbone. Then, he slid off his shirt and continued to kiss him.

The kissing would've continued if Matías had not stopped him.

"C'mon," he said in a cute manner, one that made him laugh.

"We've only been together for a week and we've kissed more than we've talked."

"What is there to talk about?" Anthony asked and leaned his forehead against his. "I already know everything about you."

"Do you?"

"What does that mean?" he asked.

"Nothing," Matías didn't know why he said that but instead of answering, he grabbed Anthony's shirt and ran off. He knew he would be chased.

 **–**

Josh knocked on Maya's door and entered when she opened it. He looked around her house and realized that she was alone. "Where's Missy?" he asked.

"She figured it would be best I talk to you," Maya answered as she closed the front door. "But...um...sit down. Do you want anything to drink?"

"I'm good, thank you."

They sat down in the living room and Maya joined him. "In case you didn't know, I received a yearbook that we know belonged to the man who keeps tormenting us. I tried many times to see and find a picture of him, but I've been unsuccessful. We don't even know his name. What we do know was that Lucas' dad knew him, but we can't ask him because he's dead. Missy and I started to get messages and we thought we were being messed with by a student. That changed when we found Lauren's body. When the police said that Bayard was her killer, we thought it was over. Missy didn't and guess what...she's right. It wasn't him."

"Just yesterday," Maya began, "Missy received a letter. In that letter, there was a map and it led us to the school's basement. When we got there we found another letter. Because of it, we think that you and Seth are his targets."

"Me?" he asked. "Why me?"

"Because you're important to us. The both of us," she said and Josh took a moment to realize what Maya had confessed. "I didn't want to tell you this because I didn't know how you would feel, but I found this," she reached in the drawer by the end table and handed him what looked like a picture. "I actually found it a while ago, but with everything that happened I just forgot."

In the picture, a group of five or six friends stood smiling and laughing. It looked like there were at a party.

"That's Lauren?" Josh pointed out.

"Yes," Maya confirmed, "...but, the girl on the far left..."

Josh's eyes trailed towards the opposite end of the picture, he removed his thumb in order to get a clear view of the girl. When he did, his eyes widened. He realized he wasn't staring at a stranger, he was staring at his mother. "My mom knew Lauren."

* * *

 **Writers Note: Are we close to finding Lauren's murderer? Let me know what you think. Only one more chapter before we go on a break and I promise you, you will be SHOOKETH.**

 **Follow, Favorite, and Review**


	29. Chapter 29

**Writers Note: I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter because it contains a small concept that was developed in the early plannings for this story. There was some planning I had to do to time the perfect timing and the perfect ending. This will be the last chapter for** **two months, but do not worry because I will return soon enough with a few more chapters to complete the story. Thanks so much for the continuous support. It means so much to me.**

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

"It's today, it's today," Acacia screamed as she ran into Matías room and jumped on his bed. This woke him him up. "I can't believe that today is the day!"

His first reaction was to check his phone. The time read 6:50 am. "Are you serious? School doesn't start for another hour."

"That doesn't matter," she saw that his eyes were still closed so she grabbed his pillow and started hitting him with it, "Today is _the_ day!"

"Whatever," he said and placed the covers over himself. "Now get out of my room. I'm trying to sleep."

"But it's _my_ day. _My_ recital day," she stared at what she could only assume was his head. The window at his side allowed the morning sunshine to enter his room which was even more spacious and bigger than hers.

"Other people will be performing too, ever think about that?" he asked and found himself slowly drifting back to sleep. His bed sheets still smelled of Anthony which made him grin.

"No," she shook her head. She never thought about the other performers, she didn't even know who they were because she never bothered to look at the names when she signed up. She just paid attention to herself and to her own stuff. "I'm focusing on me."

"Well then do that somewhere else," he countered.

She hit him with his pillow one more time before rolling off his bed and walking out. "Maya will be doing my makeup today, so don't forget to leave the front door open so she can just walk in."

"Got it."

"Don't forget," she repeated herself before adding one last word, "Moron."

 **–**

"So what did you do?" Lucas asked as he made his way past the people in the hall. He turned to Riley who was standing beside him and telling him about her encounter with Geb.

"I walked away from him," she continued. "I didn't know what to do. I mean he bumped into me and he apologized, but when he saw me, he froze."

Lucas wanted to hear every detail. He trusted Riley and he knew that she would never talk to him again, but he didn't trust Geb. He hated him and the feeling was mutual. "Did he try to follow you?"

"I don't know," she told him. "I just kept walking." She could tell how concerned Lucas was over this. The only thing keeping him from lashing out was the fact that they were at school. "Look, I told you because I knew you would want to know, but that's all that happened. Nothing more, nothing less."

They walked in silence for a few steps before Lucas grabbed her hand, "No, I'm chill. It's good."

She saw that he really did mean it and it brought a smile to her lips. Someday, Riley wanted to relieve Lucas of all the stress he piled on top of himself when he heard about something that linked Riley and Geb together. She talked to him many times and told him that there was nothing left between and he believed her, but there was always small droplets of jealousy left behind.

"Good," she spoke but as soon as the words came out, she heard her name being called over the P.A. She was to report to the office.

"What do they want?" Lucas asked.

"I don't know, but I'll be back," she kissed his cheek before walking out.

Lucas continued to walk and when he rounded the corner, he found Missy. She must've been expecting him because her eyes were already on hers. "Can we talk?"

 **–**

Riley was surprised when she was told to enter Mr. Hyde's office - the principal. She thought that she was about to get in trouble for a reason she did not know of. She hadn't done anything to get a terrible punishment but she had her worries. A part of her thought that maybe he would allow her to start working on the e-newspaper once again, she really hoped.

She knocked on his door before entering and peeked her head through, "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes," he gestured towards the chair in front of his, "Please, sit down."

"Am I in trouble?" she asked and sat down. "Why am I here?"

"You can relax," he reassured. "You are not in trouble in any way or form, but I do want to talk about your relationship with Seth Carrion?"

Riley furrowed her brows. She wasn't sure she had a relationship not even a friendship with him. "And what about it?"

"We know the situation was poorly handled so I wanted to know if he was bullying you in any way."

Riley looked at him slightly offended by his words. She didn't like the fact that Hyde thought she was vulnerable against Seth. "He and I don't talk. Not after what he did."

Hyde nodded. "Absolutely no contact has been made between you two ever since the scandal between you two."

"None."

Riley understood that there was nothing more to talk about so she prepared to leave, "And it's not me you should be checking up on," Riley reached for her backpack, "It's him."

 **–**

In between passing periods, Matías walked from one class to the other. He was in the middle of a hall when he saw Geb. He rolled his eyes because Matías didn't like him. He had many reasons to dislike him. Reason #1, he knew that Kayla was Nina's killer yet he allowed her to be near them. He didn't even warn them. Reason #2, he cheated on Riley and was a complete asshole.

He knew they were trouble. And he stayed away.

When they crossed paths, Matías didn't do so much as look at him. He kept his gaze on the wall in front of him.

"Matías," he said and it stopped him from walking.

He turned to look at him not knowing what he was about to tell him. "Yeah."

"Look, I know you don't like me, but, there's something you need to see." He pulled out his phone and handed it to him.

Matías hesitated. He didn't know whether to take it or ignore him and continue to walk. He looked down at his phone and saw what looked like a play button appeared on his screen. He immediately knew that what Geb was about to show him was a video.

"It's important," he added.

He took the phone from his hand and pressed play on the video. What he saw next caught him by complete surprise. He felt himself struggle to accept what was happening during the video. He couldn't believe the things he saw.

Matías handed him back the phone before he could see the last kick. He couldn't bring himself to see anymore. "Take it."

Geb took his phone and stayed there for a few seconds. He could see that Matías was in shock.

"I just thought you should know," he slipped his phone into his pocket and began to take a few steps back. "If you ever want to see the full video, just let me know."

 **–**

"How is he back?" Lucas asked. "I thought that - "

"You thought it was Bayard, I know," Missy said. She could already tell. They were currently speaking in an empty classroom that she had led him to. She understood that it was the only place for them to be able to speak without being heard. "Literally everyone thought it was him."

Lucas looked around the room before he spoke, "Is he threatening you?"

"Not yet, no," she answered and crossed her arms. "But Maya and I feel like he might be targetting Josh and Seth. We don't know for a fact, but I am waiting for another letter or a text to know for sure."

Lucas let out an exaggerated sigh which expressed his frustration. "Somethings just don't go away. What's he going to do? Kill them? What if he gets away with it?"

Missy didn't dare think about it. It would break her heart. "We can't go there," she waved off the topic, "I know that your aunt used to go to school during the time Lauren did. Can you please talk to her?"

"I can try," Lucas answered, "But know that she doesn't always like to talk about it."

"It's okay. Just find what you can. Anything will work."

Lucas nodded.

 **–**

"Mom?" Josh asked as he watched his mother place dinner on the table. He was already seated and he had been meaning to ask her a question for a while now.

She turned to him with light brown eyes, a pair that mirrored his own. "What's up, sweetie?"

He brought out the folded picture from his pocket and stared at it for a few seconds before asking her about it, "How well did you know Lauren Watts?"

She turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow, "How do you know - ?"

"I know you went to the same high school she did. And around the same time," he extended his arm for her to take the picture, "And there's also this."

When she looked at the picture, it was clear to Josh that he had caught her by surprise. She covered her mouth and sat down on the table with him, "This was such a long time ago. How did you find this picture?"

"Around," he answered and looked at her. "How well did you know her?"

"We weren't close, but you can say we were acquaintances, I don't know sweetie," she told him as she looked at the picture.

"Is there anything else you can tell me? Like, who did she hang out with? Did people hate her?"

His mom furrowed her brows, "Son, why do you want to know?"

"I - I'm just interested," technically he wasn't lying. He was interested but it was because of a greater purpose. "Her body was found by Maya, I just, I feel like I should know."

"Okay," she nodded, "If it's important to you then...you should know that she had a lot of friends. Lauren was actually a really pretty girl. She was popular. We played volleyball together and she and I had the same friends. It's sad because Mr. Bayard, your P.E. teacher was actually her friend. Look at how that turned out."

His mom didn't know that Bayard didn't kill Lauren, it was someone else.

"She talked to a few of your teachers as well as Hyde...and..."

Josh saw that his mom frowned at one point, "A week before she went missing, Lauren and I got into an argument."

He stared at his mom in complete surprise, "Why?"

"Because she had a thing with my ex. I know it's stupid now but it wasn't at the time. And it's high school so everything affects you."

"What ex?" Josh questioned. Maybe that was a clue or a step that led them closer to finding out who this person was.

"Your stepdad. Seth's dad. They were supposed to go on a date the day she went missing."

 **–**

Matías spent all of sixth period thinking about the video Geb showed him. He couldn't believe what he had seen, it had completely caught him off guard and because of it, the video was all the more unimaginable to him.

It was clearly having an effect on him which made him question everything he thought he once knew.

As he walked towards his last period class, he decided to take the long way so that he could have time to himself. He needed the time to think clearly and understand the video. It was still unbelievable for him to see what he saw. It made him feel a different way.

When he began to walk down the stairs, he heard the door behind him open and then close as if someone had walked in as well.

"Matías," his name was called out by him. "Hey, Matías."

He didn't stop walking. He couldn't.

"Hey," Anthony jumped the last steps in order to get in front of him. He then started to press himself against him, "Let's get out of here. I drove my dad's car today, I can take us home." he coaxed, "We can - " Matías had avoided letting Anthony see his eyes for as long as he could. When he managed to get a clear view of his eyes, he stopped talking. "You're crying," he said and touched his cheek, "What happened?"

"It's nothing," Matías said as he wiped his eyes, "I just..." he sighed. "Never talk to me again."

"Woah-Woah-Woah," he tried to stop him from walking away. "Why? What happened?" Anthony was completely confused as to why he said that and he wanted to know why he was like this.

"I don't want to talk about it," he began to walk down the flight of stairs but he was stopped once again.

"Are you mad at me?" he asked, "Did I do something -?"

Matías didn't realize how angry he was until he heard Anthony speak. He felt the energy run through every bone in his body and he just wanted to forget about the video, but he couldn't. The video was burned into his brain, forever in his memory.

"Can you please talk to me?"

"I saw the video," said Matías losing his patience already, for he had very little, to begin with. "I know what you did."

"What did I do?" he asked, he didn't want to get frustrated or yell because it would only worsen the situation. And he couldn't do that because he was still confused as to what Matías was mad about. "Can you tell me?"

"Don't act stupid," Matías pushed him away because he was too close. "Ruben? Do you remember him? He had a learning disability and you - " he couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence.

Every bone in Anthony's body stood still. He couldn't find the strength to look elsewhere because all he could see were the tears streaming down Matías cheeks. He had forgotten about what he did and he didn't know that a video of that still existed. "How did you see it?"

"That's all you fucking care about?" he nearly yelled. "You put him in a hospital, Anthony!"

"Shhh," he placed his finger on his lip because he was being too loud. "Can we talk about this somewhere else?"

"No. No, we fucking can't! Anthony you - you-you're a monster."

He looked away because those words hurt him. "It was two years ago..."

"It doesn't matter - "

"I'm a different person. I swear it," he tried to get closer to him and he managed to touch his cheek, to press his forehead against his; letting him now that his feelings for him still existed and that he should remember that, "Let's just get out here. We'll talk about this at my place...please."

Matías accepted his touch because he felt like he needed it. He thought that he could drop the argument but he realized he couldn't. He was brought back to reality when the late bell rang. "Don't touch me."

Anthony clenched his jaw because he knew the potential of the argument. It could last for a long time, especially since they had just stopped being angry with each other.

"It was Geb," he answered, "He showed me the video. And...I saw the way you hit him. You couldn't stop..."

"I regret it. You have to believe me."

"I'm not sure if I do..." he confessed, "because if I did I wouldn't be scared of you."

Anthony had to take a step back because he felt his heart wrench. He felt it ache. "I - I "

"He was already on the ground and you continued to hit him," he continued. "When he was begging you to stop not only did you keep hitting his stomach, but you hit his head. You stomped on his face as if he was worthless to you, do you not hear how inhumane you sound?"

Anthony was ashamed of what he did and he was embarrassed that the person he loved now knew about it. He no longer felt anything except for angst and his beating heart. "Matías, please."

Their fingers touched but he removed his hand right away, "I - I was friends with Ruben."

This only made him feel worse. "I was pressured. They thought it was a good idea and - "

"You listened," he sniffled, he knew that. But he still couldn't welcome it. "It is hard to accept that there was a part of you that truly felt that way about him. Whether you were pressured or not, the way you hit him was completely up to you. You can hear Geb screaming at you, telling you to stop, but you didn't! I can't believe you!"

They looked at each other but then Matías looked away. He wasn't sure if there were any feelings left. "I - I'm done. I can't anymore. This is too much."

"What is? Us?" Anthony came to the point where he understood that there was no way he could change Matías' opinion of him. The decision was completely his.

"We're done. I don't think I can ever see you as just Anthony, not anymore," his voice broke more than he would have liked, but he continued. "Don't talk to me, don't text me. I'm done."

"Matías," he tried one last time. One last final time.

"And don't come to the recital tonight."

 **–**

Seventh period came to an end and Riley walked out of class. She was glad it was Friday which meant that she had nothing to worry about over the weekend and she could just rest and watch tv. She very much needed it. As she approached her locker, she noticed that Missy and Lucas were speaking. She could tell they didn't want anyone else to hear because everytime someone walked past them, they didn't speak.

When she reached Lucas' side, she grabbed his hand so that he could know she was there. "What's going on?" she asked wanting to know what they were talking about.

She saw that Missy and Lucas stared at each other and then she heard a sigh. Her gaze then turned to Riley's and she spoke, "Bayard didn't kill Lauren. Someone else did."

 **–**

Acacia stared at herself in the bathroom mirror and took a deep breath. Her reflection reflected an image of a girl who at her youth did not understand the true beauty she displayed. She stared at a teenage girl who was now an hour away from knowing if she would get into the school she had dreamed of ever since she learned to play the piano.

She stared a girl with long brown hair that was in an updo with loose curly strands to shape her face. And the long white sleeve floral dress with buttons running down the middle of it. Her golden skin made her all the more pretty and the natural-look Maya attempted made her feel confident.

She was confident.

But she was also nervous.

Matías had not replied to any of her texts and she feared that he would miss her performance. If he did, she would feel like she wouldn't do as good as she hoped to do. His presence always calmed her anxiety and she was freaking out about the fact that he wasn't there.

Her parents were already inside watching the other performances and she needed the air to walk around and catch her breath. She looked at the mirror in front of her one last time and licked the bottom of her lips to give it a wet shine.

When she walked out, she sat down on the bench by the front doors and sent another text to Matías who was still running late. She was texting in all caps now.

She waited for two minutes and gathered herself. She could do it, she knew she could.

As she got ready to walk inside, she heard the front door open and saw that someone walked in. When she looked, she saw that it was not her brother who arrived, it was Kaden.

"Hey," he said. "Are you ready?"

She took another deep breath before giving him a faint smile, "Nervous, but ready. I mean I've been preparing for this for a long time now. I just can't believe the day has come."

When she spoke, he realized that he was getting lost in her words because he was overcome by her beauty. "You look...you look beautiful."

She didn't know how to respond to that because he only used to say those words to her when they were dating. Since they weren't, she didn't know what to do. The only thing she could do was chuckle.

This made him smile.

When the moment between them became silent, he looked at his hands and took a deep breath, "I miss you, you know."

Acacia's smile faded. She knew they couldn't afford to go there, not now. "Stop."

He grabbed her hand, "You've been ignoring me. I mean you don't even respond to my texts anymore."

"I don't respond to them because you're in a relationship," She took a step back from him, "This," she gestured towards them, "...can't happen. You're dating Lily."

"I'll break up with her."

"No," she said firmly. "You won't."

"You know I have feelings for you, only you - " He stopped because he noticed that Matías had entered the theater. He began to take a few steps back, "I'll see you inside."

When he was gone, she looked at Matías and slapped his shoulder, "You're late."

 **–**

When Maya and Missy informed Riley of everything, she found herself asking many questions. Most of which weren't answered. She decided to invite them all to her house so that they could talk about it. And Josh came too.

When he entered the door, his eyes met with all of theirs. Shortly after he sat down on the couch.

"What did she say?" Maya immediately asked him about the picture.

"Lauren went missing the day she was supposed to go on a date with Seth's dad," he answered. He didn't want to think that his stepfather was capable of murder.

Everyone in the room stayed quiet. They didn't know what to do now that they had a solid suspect.

"How is that possible?" Maya asked, "I read dozens and dozens of articles and it never once mentioned anything about his dad."

"Well, he was just a minor," Riley began, "They could've taken his name out."

"Either way," Josh began, it was clear that he was sad. "He didn't kill her. My mom wouldn't have married him if that was it."

"It's possible he could've lied - "

"Look," his voice was firm, "I know him. He wouldn't."

Riley and Lucas stared at each other because they knew it was a possibility that Seth's dad did kill her. "Can you just ask him about it? If he didn't kill her then maybe he might know something that can help us. And don't forget to ask him where he was on that day?"

He only nodded.

 **–**

As Acacia walked towards the stage, the lights in the theater turned off. Only two remaining lights were on, one that focused on Acacia and the other that rested above Lily. She turned to look at the crowd for a split second before returning her attention back to the perfectly polished piano in front of her. Her breaths were coming quickly as she flipped towards the page that contained the song she would be performing.

Taking a long, but much needed breath, her fingers fell on the keys and she began to move them. The soft melodies she created alongside the dancing that was coming from Lily managed to move the entire audience.

Throughout the song, Acacia remained in her element. She had fogotten that the people watching her existed and she focused on the keys. The soft keys that met with her fingers.

Kaden watched from the audience. He knew his gaze should be on Lily, but it wasn't. It was on Acacia. Seeing her play the piano took him back to the times when they were together. He loved being at her house because it meant that he heard her play the piano. Fastforward to only a month ago when he made the decision to break up with her because he felt like that was all she cared about. The truth was, he felt like Acacia was going to end their relationship so he wanted to do it first. He wanted to move on quickly so it seemed like he wasn't impacted at all, but he was wrong. He missed her.

As the sweet, calming lullaby that Acacia performed came to an end, Matías realized the true potential his sister was capable. Sure, he heard her play before but it was nothing like today. He had the time to listen, to free himself of every terrible thing in his life and just forget. After his argument with Anthony, he was willing to try just about anything to get over him, and Acacia was there to help without even knowing what she was doing.

Everyone around him stood up and clapped their hands loudly. She had finished her piece proudly and stood on her two feet beside Lily. They held hands and then bowed.

The first person Acacia spotted in the sea of people was Kaden. Surely, his eyes were already on hers. It brought her back to the day he told her about his feelings, it was the day they started to date.

She soon recovered from his gaze and calmly walked off the stage with Lily by her side, relieved of the nervousness that had been lifted off her shoulders.

 **–**

"I can't believe it, mija," Acacia's mom said as she congratulated her daughter. The recital was over and parents were greating their child all throughtout the theater. They hugged and she pressed her hand against her cheek to show just how proud of her she was. "You did amazing, never forget that."

She smiled, seeing her proud meant that she had done something right. "Mom, how could I? I got in, after all." She had already been greeted with roses and balloons, but the one that stood out to her the most was the one that belonged to Kaden. Attached to the single flower he handed her, was a letter addressed to her. She couldn't wait to read it.

"She's gonna be bragging about it all year long," her brother joked.

"Well, mija we should get going. We made reservations - " her dad said.

"Why don't you guys go? Matías and I will meet you there. I just want to drop these off at the house, is that okay with you?"

"Yeah," he said. "Ah, we'll meet you there then. Don't be late. I'll send you the address."

They split their separate ways and Acacia rode in the car with her brother. Once they got home and she dropped off the presents given her, she detached Kaden's letter from the flower he gave her and ran back to the car where Matías was waiting for her.

 _Oh so, your wounds they show_

 _I know you have never felt so alone_  
 _But hold on, head up, be strong_  
 _Oh hold on, hold on until you hear them come_  
 _Here they come, oh_

The drive was quiet for the most part. She was so concentrated on the envelope that it distracted her from her surroundings. She wanted to open it and read what was inside, but a part of her didn't want to open the letter. She knew what the contents inside of it held, she knew what they wrote. But she didn't want to open it because she didn't want to ruin the relationship Kaden had with Lily. She didn't want to break them up, especially now that she had helped her with her own recital. The one that allowed her to get into the school she dreamt of ever since she learned how to say the name of it.

"Who's is that from?" he asked and she turned to look at her brother.

Acacia didn't feel the need to lie to him. She felt comfortable telling her brother things like this, "Kaden."

"Kaden?" he asked. The last time she heard him say that name, was the day she told him about their breakup. "Do you two get along? I mean I know he's your ex and..."

She knew what he meant even though he had trailed off, "We didn't at first, but since he's dating Lily, he and I have been talking to each other."

"Like earlier today?" he looked at her, "What was that about?"

 _Take an angel by the wings_  
 _Beg her now for anything_  
 _Beg her now for one more day_  
 _ _Take an angel by the_ wings_  
 _Time to tell her everything_  
 _Ask her for the strength to stay_

She took a deep breath, "He told me he had feelings for me? That he was willing to break up with Lily...to get back with me."

"What did you tell him?" he questioned his sister. He knew what the right thing to do was and he wanted to make sure his sister did so.

"I told him it's wrong. He shouldn't be having feelings for me if he's with her."

Matías gaze returned to the street in front of him. He would be reaching an intersection soon. When he stopped the car, he turned his attention to his younger sister. The sun had set and it was night already. "Why don't you read the letter? Maybe it will make you feel something?"

Being there for his sister meant helping her with everything, including boys. The irony was, he was having trouble with one too.

She looked down at it and nodded. The fact that he had written her name brought a slight smile to her lips and she did not know why. Her fingers traced the envelope and then she opened it.

As she read through each line she found herself realizing that her feelings for him were growing. She missed him so much and she did want to be with him. She really did. She missed absolutely everything about it and she was okay with that.

The red light changed to green and Matías took his foot off the brake, "What does it say?" he asked noticing that she had stopped reading.

She turned to her brother and before she could speak, her smile fell short. "Matías, watch out -!"

It was sudden.

 _Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh_

 _Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh_

The impact the truck had on his car sent pieces of glass flying everywhere. The cars back wheels lifted off the ground and flipped over, leaving them both pinned to their seats and in pain.

The crash itself was very disorienting and loud.

It took him a moment to realize what had happened and the seriousness of it. A piercing sound of silence rang over them.

He could hear a muffled noise in the seat beside him. When he turned to it, he could see his younger sister screaming and in pain. She was staring at her arm and moving uncontrollably in her seat.

Her right arm was sticking out in a way it should not have been. When his hearing began to come back to him, he heard his sister's pantings breaths. They were quick and shallow. The only thing he was able to make from her reaction was that her body was able to understand the pain she was in, but her brain wasn't comprehending it.

Matías tried many times to tune out the noise she was creating from her screams. But he could not. Her facial expressions were one of pure agony and pain.

He could now feel his own pain. It was overwhelming and he could not move, he could only see.

He looked at the truck that had crashed into him, the man had now stepped out of the car and looked at them. He placed his hands on his head not believing what he had done.

He then ran back to his truck, climbed in and drove off.

Matías' watched in complete surprise. He could not make sense of what he had seen. His wound reached his chest and he could feel his heart slowly stop. His saliva was mixed with blood that ran down the side of his lips and his body remained inert.

"Matías," Acacia called out noticing that he hadn't moved nor spoken. Her own pain was there too, and she could feel it. The only thing that made her body able to control itself was the sight of her brother. He was awake, but hardly. "Take out your phone. Call someone." he didn't budge. "Matias!"

Nothing.

"Matías!"

She completely gave up on getting help, she just wanted to know if her brother was okay. She called out his name, but her voice was low, "Matías."

"Matías."

"Matías! Please, wake up."

She stopped calling out to him when she heard a car stop. A couple stepped out and she yelled at them to call for help. When she turned to look at him, something stopped her from looking away.

He wasn't breathing. Her brother wasn't breathing.

And then it hit her.

The realization.

Her heart began to ache and she started to cry. She placed her hand on his chest to feel his heart and she couldn't feel a single beat. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Matías!"

The silence was powerful. It was lingering and a heavy burden. Sometimes it's peace and sometimes it's like the heart - struggling to continue…until it stops.

And then,

there's silence.

* * *

 **Writers Note: Okay, so writing this scene was definitely a process. This specific part was something that I knew was going to happen for sure. It was written in my notes and it was always pushed off because during this scene I wanted Acacia and Matías together. I wanted Anthony and Matías to not be okay with each other. It does make it one of my favorites scenes in this story. Never forget that new chapters return in August.**

 **Fun Fact #3: The scene for the crash was rewritten in January of this year. I wanted to leave it with people asking questions.**

 **Thank you guys so much for reading and have a nice day.**

 **Follow, Favorite, and Review**


	30. Chapter 30

**Writers Note:** **I am BACK! I know I left the story on a cliffhanger but don't worry you guys finally get the chance to know what happened after the car crash. In the time I was away I had time to just relax and enjoy myself because writing a story takes a lot of time and thought.** **These next chapters coming up will deal a lot with survival, it will also talk about acceptance which I thought was really important and I am glad you guys can now read it. This story will come to an end soon and I can't believe how long we've come with this story. This was an amazing experience and it will continue to be throughout these next weeks and even after it. T** **his will forever be one of my favorite stories for this fandom and I am so glad that you guys who are reading this have stuck with me. Thank you so much and enjoy!**

 **In case you forgot:**

 **Riley and the gang are still trying to find whoever killed Lauren. Josh learned that his mom knew Lauren and that his stepdad dated Lauren in high school, this makes him think his stepdad had something to do with her murder.**

 **Geb showed Matías a video of Anthony beating up a disabeled kid named Ruben. Because of this he ended his relationship with Anthony.**

 **Acacia's recital came and she got accepted into the school of her dreams. Kaden confessed to her that his feelings for her were still there. On the way to celebrate with their parents, a drunk driver hit Matías' car, leaving them completely hurt.**

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

 _Blue and red_ were all she saw for a few minutes. The police and ambulance arrived at the same time, but by then she had already realized that Matías was long gone.

Acacia was taken out of the car first and laid on the cement. The paramedics began to ask her questions to which she did not have the strength to answer. They placed her on a gurney and brought her into the ambulance.

The doors were left open for her to see the other paramedic on the other side of the car. "This one is not breathing," he called out, two of his fingers on Matías' carotid artery. The woman kneeled beside him and set her bag down.

They ripped his shirt so that his chest was out and placed two defibrillator pads on him. They counted up to five and then administered seven hundred and fifty bolts of electricity.

Acacia did not see what happened after that. The doors on her were closed and the ambulance began to drive.

She was certain her brother was dead.

 **–**

 **One Week Later**

 _ **MONDAY** morning _

Anthony waited until the lady at the front desk was alone. She had been busy for the past ten minutes, taking calls, talking with people, writing stuff down on papers he could not see, and typing on her keyboard.

When he approached her, he could barely speak right. It was like his tongue felt the sudden need to go numb and malfunction. "I'm here to see Matías Reyes," he said.

"For the tenth time," the lady began and continued to type. "Only family members are allowed to see the patient."

"If I could just please talk to him for five minutes? I just want to see him."

"Are you his brother?" she asked.

"No," he answered.

"Are you his cousin?"

"No."

"Are you related to the patient in any way?"

"No."

"Then no," the receptionist said. " You cannot see him. I'm gonna have to ask you to leave."

He nodded and turned his back on the woman. He didn't want to let temptation get the best of him, but in the end, it did and he took his chances. Matías room wasn't that far a run and he was sure he could make it without being stopped.

When he began to run, he heard the woman yell and tell him to stop. He didn't listen. And he was glad he hadn't.

Matías was laying down in the hospital bed scrolling through the channels on the TV. His face had minor cuts and bruises on his cheeks and his temple, this made him look different in a way. When his eyes met him, he looked dumbfounded.

"Sir, you need to leave now. Or I'm gonna have to get security."

"Matías, can we please talk?" he begged, completely ignoring the receptionist. "I just want to talk, please?"

He wasn't sure what to say at first. He didn't want to talk to him and he was seconds away from letting him go but something within him changed and he wanted to hear what he was going to say. He didn't want to hate him forever. "It's okay. He'll be out in a minute."

The woman debated whether she should listen to him. She stared at them and then back to Matías before giving a light nod and walking off.

Anthony placed his hand on the door and slowly closed it. His eyes then turned to meet with his, "Thank you. I came as soon as I heard you were out of your coma."

Matías didn't say anything. He just stared at the remote in his hands.

"It's been a week... you know?" Anthony spoke, he wanted to make the most out of the time Matías was willing to give him. "The season finale of Cloak & Dagger aired last week." He thought that this would make him smile considering the fact that they love that show, but there was nothing but silence after he said that. "I'm glad you're okay," he started to walk closer to him, "Are you okay?"

"I'm alive, that's all that matters."

"So you know?" Anthony didn't want to accidently slip something without fully knowing what Matías knew.

"That I died for five minutes?" he questioned and sat upright. "I know. The doctors told me. Said it's a miracle I'm alive."

Anthony saw the single tear trail down his cheek and he wiped it off with his thumb, "You're a fighter."

His touch was warm and everything he had been wanting since he woke up. He gently moved his head and Anthony got the message that he did not want to be touched. "How did you find out? About me?"

"Your sister told me. Said she was the first to know other than your parents."

"Did she tell you I was dead?"

He nodded. "That's all I knew. You were dead."

 **–**

Maya ran both of her hands down her hair to drain the water that was in it. She had just stepped out of the shower in the school's locker room and wrapped a towel around her body. She decided to skip first period because she woke up late and was in desperate need of a shower.

She walked towards the other end of the room which contained her locker and as soon as she opened it, she took a step back.

A Barbie doll was hanging inside her locker, rope around its neck. On the doll's forehead was a red dot with the name Lauren written in red marker across its shirt. Just under the doll was a letter with Maya's name on it.

 **–**

 _ **SUNDAY** morning - **The Day Before**_

"Are you sure you don't need help?" Lucas asked Riley as he noticed that she was struggling with the luggage in her arms. "I don't mind."

"I'm almost there," she responded and lifted the luggage from the ground to place it just above the step. "Lucas," she turned back face with him with excitement and saw that he was leaning against the fender, watching her with a bright smile on his lips. "I did it!"

She could hear his laugh from where he stood. To him, it was no accomplishment considering how lightweight they were to him. He started to walk towards her and he opened the door to her house, "Home sweet home."

"Thank you again for inviting me to spend Christmas with your aunt and uncle. They're kind," she said as she walked inside.

He smiled and grabbed her hand before he began to kiss her. "They told me how much they liked you. Say that they want to see you more often."

"And I do them."

He saw that Riley's phone began to chime and when she read the notification, she turned to Lucas, "It's just Maya."

"How is she by the way? Is she okay?"

"She's been fine. The man has been laying low, he hasn't been calling nor texting which is good. So..." she trailed off, "Ever since the incident with Matías happened, she feels like this was part of the guy's plan. She's been wanting to involve the police but I've changed her mind. She continues to worry about not involving them."

"With everything, they've been through..." he began, talking about the terrible things that both Maya and Missy have endured through, "They're bound to break at some point."

"I know," the brunette sighed feeling sorry for her friend Maya. "Don't even get me started on Matías because I will cry," she tried to avoid the terrible things happening in her friend's life and she tried to focus on the one good thing in hers. Lucas. "Why don't you stay the night?"

"What?" he asked. "You know your parents won't be okay with that."

She sighed because she did not like that Lucas was suddenly interested in doing the right things, "Well then stay for dinner."

"By stay you mean make dinner."

"You know me so well," she brought herself closer to him and kissed his lips.

 **–**

 ** _PRESENT_ **day

Josh stood in a long hallway and Maya watched from a distance. He seemed to be the only one standing there because her attention was strictly on him. Just him. "Can we talk?" she asked when she joined him. She was playing with the straps on her backpack and trying to contain herself from panicking.

"Yeah?" he said unsure of why she felt the need to ask. When he saw her reaching into her backpack, he knew immediately what she wanted to talk to him about.

" _He_ gave me this," she pulled out and handed it to him. Josh did not look amused by it. "He also gave me this."

He gave the doll back to Maya and took the letter from her hands, "Have you read it?"

She nodded, "I did before I got here."

He brought the piece of paper out of the letter and read it's content. Halfway through the paragraph, he stopped. "Is he describing the way he killed her?"

Maya nodded. "He describes things no one else would know besides the actual killer."

He placed the letter inside the envelope and advised Maya to keep it safe. As soon as he said this, a door opened and Missy walked in with a box in her hands. The way she held it made him realize that it was a gift from Lauren's killer. "Guys," she said.

"What is it?"

"These are polaroids...of Lauren's body."

 **–**

"I felt like I was dead too," Anthony confessed. The night he heard of Matías' accident felt like something valuable was taken from his life. He stood in front of a very stern Matías, one who did not shed the same amount of tears as he did. "I cried for hours."

Matías did feel something for him. He wouldn't wish that kind of emotional pain on anyone. But it didn't change the fact that he was still angry with him. Despite what happened, he still had every right to be angry.

"I ran to your house around six a.m. and when I got there I knocked on your door...when no one answered I began to understand the seriousness of it. I was about to leave when your parents pulled up in your driveway. Your mom stepped out of the car in tears and that's when I knew, that you were really dead." He sat down on the chair beside him and continued. Reliving the memories broke his heart many times, but he had to continue. "Your mother had to calm me down before she told me that you were alive - just in a induced coma. And as messed up as it sounds, that made me feel better. Because if anything you weren't dead...and I wasn't alone." He closed his eyes hard so that the pool of tears didn't linger in his eyes. When he saw that Matías' hand was free, he decided to grab it. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for what I did. I'm sorry for that night...and for all the fucking mistakes I've made. Can you please forgive me?"

Now that Anthony was close to him, he could see the simplest of detail on Matías face. The scratches still looked like they hurt and the bruises were a dark almost yellow shade. He was pale as snow and cold.

"I remember everything," Matías finally spoke, gulping. "Everything, Anthony. You were so cruel and aggressive to Ruben, I never thought you were capable of doing anything like that."

"It's not who I am. I promise you, it's not," his pleading eyes were not convincing enough. Anthony was speaking the truth. It was a one-time thing and he had felt bad about it ever since. It was something he would have to live with for the rest of his life.

"That's what I thought - "

Anthony stared at him with a pool of tears in his eyes. If he blinked even once, everything would come streaming down his cheeks. "Can you please forgive me?"

Matías looked at him. He examined him and knew he was deeply sorry for what he did, but something in him couldn't forgive him. "No." The face Anthony made after this was one of pure heartbreak and sadness. "I can't." he removed his hand from his grip and looked at the door, "You need to leave."

"Matías - " his voice quavered.

"Get out, Anthony!"

He flinched when he heard him yell and he slowly stood up. He noticed that he looked tired and broken, lost and hurt. "I love you, Matías. And it's going to take more than this to get me to stop."

He held in his sob until after Anthony was gone. Then he was free to release everything he had held in.

 **–**

 _ **TUESDAY**_

"I went to go see him last night," Maya told her best friend Riley as she parked her car in the school parking lot. "Apparently Matías woke up a few days ago. I couldn't see him because the stupid receptionist wouldn't allow me. Said that ' _every non-family member wants to see this kid_ ' I came home after but it's good to know he's awake."

"The last time I tried to talk to him when he going through thing, he shut me out. It was hard to accept the fact that I couldn't do anything for him, but I ended up working on it. That's who he is. When it gets hard, he cuts everybody off."

"It's dumb though," they proceeded to walk towards the school's main entrance. "We're his friends. That's when he should need us the most."

"I know," the brunette agreed. "But there's nothing we can do. We just have to be there when he's ready for us to be." They stopped walking on the grass and stepped on the sidewalk, "We should give him a least a week to be with himself. I know he'll want to see us then."

Maya nodded, "One week. Okay. I think I can manage." She didn't think that one more week could hurt especially since she has already gone one week without seeing him. As they continued to walk, she thought long and hard about changing the subject. She wanted to find something to talk about but there was nothing. Death, hospitas and killers were all they talked about. She then emembered that Riley spent Christmas with Lucas' family and she wanted to know all about it. "How was your getaway with the Friar's?"

"Amazing," she answered so excitedly. "We went to his family cabin in the woods and had the best time. He looks so good in cashmere."

"Did you guys have sex?"

"What?" Riley asked taken aback by her question. "No. No. Ill gross."

"Gross? Seriously?" Maya asked. She examined her friend to see if she was right in the head. Or blind in the eyes.

"Ew?" the brunette suggested.

"He's your boyfriend? A handsome one at that. Sex with him would not be 'ew.' C'mon, have you at least given him head?"

"What is your problem? My sex life is not your concern."

"We are juniors in high school. This is what we should be worrying about. What we shouldn't be worrying about is getting killed or investigating a homicide case. That, my friend, is 'ew'."

Riley only said 'ew' because she is not ready for sex. She is not even remotely ready for it. She's only comfortable with letting Lucas spend the night at her house because they've been in a relationship for weeks and had a long friendship before that.

She also knew he wouldn't want them to have sex either because they are not really ready.

They continued to walk and Riley was still thinking about the fact that Maya said 'sex with Lucas isn't gross'. She had to think about it before she realized that it would never be. Lucas liked to be shirtless around her and he certainly had the body of a model and the thought of them _doing it_ rarely came to her mind. A few days ago when Riley went to Lucas' house early in the morning to wake him up for school, she pulled the covers off of his bed to get him out of it and she saw that Lucas slept in just his underwear.

If it couldn't get any worse, she saw that his penis was erect and made a protruding shape in the thin fabric of his boxers. She tried to play it off like she hadn't seen it, but she did. She clearly saw it.

The more she thought about it the more she realized that he was not bad in size and for a couple of days it was all she could think about. It gave her the butterflies.

Maya's voice brought her back to reality, "So nothing on sex with him? Nada?"

"Okay fine." Maya squealed when she realized her best friend was gonna let her in on a dirty little secret, "I once let him touch my boobs," she whispered.

The blonde looked at her friend for a split second before she started to laugh, "Please. I let Josh do that a week into our relationship. I'm way ahead of you girl, you need to catch up."

"Have you guys ever sexted?"

Maya stopped walking, "You and Lucas have?"

"Well, no," Riley said lamely, "But we've...you know..."

"I don't...what?"

"We've talked about masturbating."

"Oohhh," she said, intrigued. "Kinky."

She let out a light smile and opened the door to the main door. For the first time, both Riley and Maya were able to experience the real life of a horny teenager, one that ditched school with her boyfriend or lied to her parents about where she's been, something they would like to be doing rather than anything else.

She felt like a real teen.

As soon as they entered the school, their smile faded. Everyone was gathered in the hallways, looking at the ground below them. They made their way to the front and looked at the ground.

They saw pictures.

Hundreds and hundreds of pictures of blood, hair, and skin.

"Oh my God...what is this?"

"Lauren's body," Maya answered. "It's everywhere."

And once again something terrible had to happen to remind them that they are not normal teenagers.

They searched the hallways and locked eyes with all of their friends present. Lucas, Josh, Missy, and Anthony all looked at the picture, knowing that their biggest fear had returned.

* * *

 **Writers Note: What do you guys think? I am finally back and I am sorry for the wait but I had to finish these next chapters. I can tell you that these next chapters that are coming up will come full circle. You will find out who killed Lauren and who keeps threatening Maya and Missy. AND you will know what happens during the lockdown. So many things to come that you will NEEED to know.**

 **End Game coming Aug. 30, 2018.**

 **Follow, Favorite, and Review**


	31. Chapter 31

**...**

 **Junior Year**

"Never thought I'd be back here again," Missy said as she sat down on Riley's living room couch. The only time she's ever been to her house was when there was something to talk about Lauren's killer.

"I feel like he's up to something," Riley was the first to talk. The others waited patiently in her house, scrolling through the channels on her TV and eating her food. She figured she'd be the first to talk since no one else would. "If he's putting himself out there it's because he's thinking about doing something stupid and dangerous."

"He left this in my locker yesterday," Maya informed everyone as she set the doll down on the table as well as the letter. "He explains how he killed Lauren."

Lucas picked up the letter, "It's his handwriting. We just need a suspect to match it with and we have him."

"We don't have any suspects, remember?" Josh squashed his idea. A couple weeks ago, Lucas, Riley, and Missy were convinced that his stepdad could be a potential suspect but that was ruled out when they found out that he was waiting in a restaurant for Lauren to arrive. She never did. The police left him out of the case because the people who were working in the restaurant he was waiting in were able to elaborate on his story.

"To add, I was given a box of polaroids," Missy set them down on the glass table and saw that everybody took a step closer to get a better view. "There's a picture in here that matches with the one Lauren's killer spread all throughout the floors of the school. I haven't looked through them all, maybe they could help us find something?"

"It's no use, I doubt there's anything. There never is."

"What are you trying to say?" Lucas asked. For a while know he had began to notice that Josh did not want to be a part of this anymore and it was obvious to him. He disapproved of every idea he came up with and rolled his eyes when ever they brought it up.

"I'm saying that we should let the police handle it - "

"After today, they already are."

"Perfect, so why do we need to worry about it?" he argued.

"Because Maya and Missy are our friends. And they're being threatened," Lucas didn't mean to raise his voice but he did. "You should worry about it because they are both your exes."

"Okay, that's enough," Riley intervened and stepped in front of Lucas.

"We can't argue," Maya spoke. She noticed the tension between them even before they started speaking, "Okay? Not among us all."

"We should let the police handle this case," Josh grabbed his jacket and walked towards the front door, "Before someone else is killed and there's nothing we can do about it."

 **–**

Acacia stared at the cast in her arm. It extended from her shoulder all the way to her hand and she wiped the tear that rolled down her cheek. She couldn't take her eyes off of it, it was all she could think about and every time she tried to perform a simple action, she found herself needing her mother's help. She would ask help for brushing her teeth, putting on her shirts and pants, she needed help going to the bathroom and every time she felt the need to ask for help, she began to cry.

She found herself thinking about the ambulance ride and the fear she felt.

 _Suddenly she was resting on the gurney, staring at the paramedics and watching as they stared at her. They flashed a light on her and it reminded her of the headlights of the car that crashed into them._

 _She started to freak out and break free of the medical equipment restraining her back. "He's dead," she whispered. "He's dead." The whispering continued and she could hear the paramedic say that she was in a state of shock._

A light knock on her bedroom door brought her back to reality and she turned to look at the person who knocked. It was her mom. "Are you feeling good?"

"I am," she said because maybe it could convince her that she was.

Her mom turned to look at something Acacia could not see because of the wall that blocked her, "There's someone here to see you," her mom said when she turned to look at her daughter. When she saw who it was, she quickly wiped the tears from her eyes before he could look at her. "Kaden."

"Hi."

She looked at her mom and she took it as the queue to leave the room. The door remained open.

"Hey. I didn't know you were coming," she wished she had gotten a heads up because it would have given her time to do her hair, put on makeup and not look like she had spent the past day crying, which she had.

"I was walking by your house when I made up my mind that I had to see you," his eyes trailed down to her cast and she saw the look on his face. He felt pity for her. "How are you?"

"I would say I'm okay, but then I would be lying to you."

"I'm here," he placed his hand on her knee for reassurance. "I know that you don't want us to be anything more than friends. So I'm here to be your friend...just your friend."

The way he said this made her feel sad for a reason she did not know. She did like him, that was true. Her feelings for him still existed and they weren't going anywhere, but hearing him say that made her feel like one less good thing existed in her life.

She noticed many times that his eyes were trailing down to look at her cast. She couldn't blame him, it was all she could look at too. "They say it will never be the same again. I'll be lucky if I can even write my own name."

Acacia heard his sigh. His faint sigh. It warmed her heart because it made her realize that he cared for her health - she knew Kaden liked her too, but this proved it to her. And it was something she needed at the moment. "I feel like I should've been there. Like there was something I could've done to stop this."

"Hey," she grabbed his hand. "The guy was drunk. It was a Friday night. None of it was your fault."

"Even if it's not, this driver ruined your life, Acacia. Your hand - " he calmed himself down, "What does this mean?" he asked, "You can't play ... ?"

It took a lot of courage to answer him. She couldn't find the strength to do so, but she finally did. She looked into his eyes before shaking her head no. She will never be able to play the piano again, at least not how she used to. "Can we talk about something else?" her eyes began to water and as soon as he noticed this, he adjusted himself on her bed and scooted himself closer to her.

"Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?"

She looked into his eyes as soon as he said this and she felt the urge to do something she would never do had she not had the confidence. She looked into Kaden's eyes and remembered that he once used to be her boyfriend. That he once used to be the person she was the most vulnerable to.

And knowing that, she kissed him on the lips.

And he reciprocated.

 **–**

 **Wednesday**

When Anthony opened the doors to the school, he didn't know what he would expect. The day before, hundreds of papers were plastered all over the ground and he couldn't make sense of it at first but then he did. He didn't know much about Lauren Watts other than his friend Maya found her body but he was sure it was her body he was staring at through the picture.

The school was back to normal. It was cleaned by the janitors and police officers lingered around the hall. The only thing that was different was the banner hanging from the ceiling - it was in the center of the hallway for everyone to see.

The banner read: _Stay Safe Driving_

Anthony's face fell. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

He took a deep, low breath to keep his temper in check and he walked to his locker. As soon as he opened it, a paper slipped out and he picked it up. It was a flyer.

The flyer talked about tips on how you can stay safe driving and how to avoid a car accident.

"Unbelievable," he uttered. He felt like he could punch a wall of bricks and still have the anger to hit it once more. He slammed his locker shut and walked towards Lucas, his friend who he was sure could help him. "Have you seen this?" he asked him.

Lucas nodded because he was reading it as soon as he was asked.

"They're making it seem like it was his fault! Matías was the one who was hit! The fucker had the nerve to drive away too, glad he ass arrested."

"Okay, breathe with me," Lucas said and placed a hand on his chest. "It's okay, man."

"No, it's not! There were no cameras in that intersection. None. It took three days to find the man, Lucas. Three days! Waterbrooke's police are so fucking terrible. It's not even the first accident that has happened there, it's the fourth! The fourth in two months!" Anthony was shouting at this point.

"Anthony, calm down," Lucas said as he noticed that people were now starting to stare at them.

He didn't want to listen at first, but eventually, he obliged and his face became somber.

"Let's go talk, we'll skip sixth period and go to Poet's - "

"No," he shook his head as soon as he noticed Geb walking through the halls. He readjusted his backpack strap and walked towards him. He rounded the hall and lost track of him, but then saw the remaining of his leg and shoe enter the bathroom.

When he entered he saw that it was empty. "I know you showed him the video. It's fucked up, you know?"

Geb was washing his hands and as soon as he heard Anthony's voice, he smirked. "I showed him the truth. Something you did to Riley, remember?"

Anthony clenched his fists and approached him, "If you do something like this again; if you go near Matías again I swear to God I won't hesitate to tell the police about Nina."

"Tell them what?" Geb challenged. "You were there that night too."

"Was I?" he questioned and stared deep into his eyes. "Last I checked I returned her purse and her phone."

Geb wanted to hit him, but he didn't. "You won't get lucky. You know that. Be grateful Matías was alive because God forbid - "

Anthony lost his composure and grabbed Geb by the hem of his shirt, he was sure he lifted him a good inch off the ground before pushing him towards the stall, "Finish that sentence I dare you - " he growled.

"Or what? Are you gonna do the same thing you did to James? It was in this bathroom, you know?"

Anthony looked around and realized that he was right. It was in this very bathroom that he hurt James.

"Matías may have gotten out of his coma, but James is still in his. No matter how hard you try to hurt me, you will never escape James. Ever. Get that in that tiny head of yours," Geb slapped his head before walking out.

Anthony couldn't release the grip on his own hand. It was balled so hard his own knuckles were turning white. As soon as Geb left, he punched the stall repeatedly and cursed.

 **–**

Maya walked through the hallway as soon as class ended. She was walking towards her next class when she noticed Seth walking in the opposite direction of her. This meant that at someone point they would pass each other.

She was prepared to move and let someone take her place but that changed when she noticed that he was strictly looking down. The more she stared at him the more she noticed that he was sad and didn't want people to look at him. As they passed each other, he looked up for a split second and she was able to see why he didn't want people to look at him.

He had a bruised eye and another one forming on his cheek.

 **–**

"Since Winter Formal is later this month I was hoping we would go together," Riley told Lucas as they talked in an empty student lounge. She only told him this because she didn't think he would ask her any time soon. In fact, she thought that he didn't want to go at all which is why he wouldn't ask her.

"I thought we were," he informed and his eyes met hers. When he noticed her facial expression, he said: "Right? I mean I already got my tux - "

"You what?"

"I just assumed - "

"No, that's great. That's good. I just realized I still haven't gotten a dress and the formal is only a couple of weeks away. Oh my Gosh," she ran a hand through her hair, realizing how behind she was. "Lucas you need to take me shopping."

"I what?" he asked. He had never taken Riley shopping but he knew her long enough to know how she would be when it came to it. "Can't Maya take you?"

"Maya already got her dress."

He sighed in defeat. Riley was the worst at finding a dress, she needed to try every single one of them before she decided which one she wanted. Most of the time she settled for a dress she had at home but he was prepared to endure a long day of suffering with her. "Yeah. I'll take you."

"Good," she said and looked at him. For a milisecond she noticed something that she had seen in his face before. She wasn't certain at first but something was going on with him that he didn't want her to know. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he chuckled, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"No reason," she only dismissed the idea because he made it seem like nothing was bothering him. She decided to take his word for it.

 **–**

School was out for the day and Maya was not happy about the surprise chemistry test Mrs. Carrington had planned for them on Friday. She felt like all her teachers were on a mission to ruin her grade now that they were all A's. As she placed the study guide in her backpack, she sauntered towards Missy who was buying snacks from the vending machine. "Carrington tell you about the test?"

"That bitch," Missy said as she grabbed her KitKat. "Third day back from winter break and she is already giving tests on something she clearly doesn't know how to explain." As Missy continued to speak, she stopped talking because she spotted Seth. She saw his eye and was prepared to forget about it but something told her it wasn't the right thing to do. She still saw him as a friend even though he had fucked up many times. "What the fuck happened to your face?" she asked him while her hand remained on his forearm.

Seth stopped walking and placed his hoodie over his head so that no one could see it, "I don't want to talk about it."

"We're serious," she said, "We want to know."

His gaze traveled to the both of them and remained on Maya's for a few seconds longer. When Maya noticed their shared stare, she gripped her books closer to her. She hated to admit that it pained her to see him this way.

"I was playing basketball late at night and I saw a man in a black hoodie just staring at me. He came out of nowhere and just stood there. He was watching me from the trees and when I saw him I asked him what he wanted. He didn't talk, he didn't move, he just started. I was getting ready to leave when he started running towards me. I tried to run away, but he caught up to me...and, he beat me."

"Oh my God," Missy covered her mouth because she couldn't believe it, "And you still came to school?" she asked.

"I can't afford to miss another day. And if I report this to the police they're going to ask me if I deal or if I'm in a gang and I just can't deal with the racism these fucking policemen seemed to be loaded with."

Missy turned to stare at Maya and gave her the look. The one you seem to give another person when you both know something that a third person might not know.

"What?" Seth asked when he took notice.

"We think we know who it is."

"Well, w-who?"

"The same guy who killed Lauren. Who printed photos of Lauren's dead body and left them all over school. The one who is threatening us, tormenting us..."

He sighed frustratedly, "I told you I don't want to be involved."

"You already are," Maya spoke for the first time. She could tell this had an effect on him, "Please. I don't want to see you like this."

After hearing this, Seth had changed his mind. It was the power Maya had over him and he didn't want to admit that she still had it. "Okay," he nodded. "I guess I'm in."

 **–**

"Welcome home!" Matías' mother and Acacia yelled as soon as he had opened the door. He was finally free to return home from the hospital and he was never more excited about anything. His dad went to go pick him up and it took some convincing before he finally got in the car.

He looked around the house and saw that they had ordered pizza, most of the lights were off which meant they were watching a movie and he was honestly happy to be home.

"Thanks, mom," he said and hugged her. When he reached his sister he noticed that she had invited a special friend of hers, "Kaden, it's good to see you, man."

"You too, man," he responded. The last time he saw him was the day of the accident when the recital was going on and he was trying to convince Acacia to take him back. He was glad Matías was okay and that he was making progress with Acacia.

"So," he turned to look at his parents. "What movie are we watching?"

"We are watching Spiderman: Homecoming because your sister and I couldn't decide on a movie."

"Kaden, you allowed this?"

"I wanted to watch Game Night...I let them figure it out on their own."

He saw that they hadn't started the movie, "Hit play, I'll join you guys in a minute. I see there's pizza in the kitchen."

When he walked towards the kitchen and placed two slices of pizza on his plate, he felt his phone ding and when he brought it out, he saw that the message was from Anthony.

Attached to the messages were various pictures of themselves laughing in videos or kissing. It warmed his heart, but it didn't make him forgive him.

"Hey, love? Are you coming?" his mom asked.

"Yeah," he slipped his phone into his pocket. "I'm coming."

* * *

 **Writers Note: Thank you so much for reading. It means a lot and what do you think about Seth joining Maya and Missy? Why did Josh leave and why do you think he is so angry about what they are doing? The ending is coming soon, but not so soon that you should expect it in the following weeks or so.**

 **Follow, Favorite, and Review**


	32. Chapter 32

**Writers Note: Major news is spilled in this chapter and you will definitely want to tune in for the next one. When I was first writing these chapters, I think it was around May or June and 13 Reason's Why was still being talked about so I think I intepreted some elements of the second season onto this chapter. I hope you guys enjoy.**

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

 **Thursday**

Anthony hated rallies. He never liked to see the students in student government handle something because most of them were stuck up and found a way to ruin it for everyone.

The only time he found himself enjoying it was when Matías was a part of it. His attention was always on him, no matter where he went, his eyes followed. Something about his appearance made it much more enjoyable. He wished he still had that.

Hyde - the school's principal - was standing in front of everyone, he was going to make a speech considering the accident that involved one of the students enrolled in his school. With everything that has happened, the school was facing serious charges and could be sued if they didn't do anything to handle the situation.

"As many of you know, there was an accident that happened nearly two weeks ago. No one was severely injured but...it happened. And it shouldn't of. As a result, this week will strictly promote safe driving," he began and looked at the students sitting in the bleachers. Most of them were secretly using their phones, others talked to their friends and some did listen - but there were few of them. "Student government, Insight, and Yearbook club are some of the clubs that will be involved. They have planned activities and future rallies that are yet to come..."

Anthony must've stopped listening because by the time his eyes turned to look at Hyde, he had finished speaking. Many students began to stand up and make an exit for the gym. He followed.

He left the gym and searched for Lucas, he had become his only close friend now that Matías was gone. "The rally was bullshit. Like always." As soon as he said this, he looked up and saw that they had all stopped talking. This was the third time it had happened. He would approach them and they'd immediately stop talking and stare at him. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked.

"No," Riley answered. The reason they were being like this was because they didn't want to tell him about Lauren's killer. They'd risk endangering his life. "It's nothing."

"Nothing?" he asked and looked at them all. "Doesn't look like nothing." To his left was Lucas, Maya, Missy, Seth, Riley, and Josh was to his right. He was surprised to be seeing Seth and that he was in on their secret when he wasn't, an actual friend of their's. "Why the fuck are you here?" he asked, his eyes narrowing down on Seth.

"Anthony," Lucas tried to calm him down. He could hear the anger in his voice and that could only lead to something they did not want to see.

"Why the fuck are you here?" he yelled again because he never answered him. The second time he said this he started to approach him. They tried to interfere but were unsuccessful. "You're fucking dead to me, Seth."

"Anthony," they all must've repeated his name a dozen times each in order to get his attention and stop him, but he did not respond. He ignored them. The last thing they needed was a fight to break out.

"If you're really their friend you should tell them about the flash drives! You should tell them about what you and Geb did! If you can tell Matías what I've done then - "

"Anthony! Stop!" Lucas yelled and shoved him back.

Anthony stared at Lucas. He was surprised by the shove and was able to recognize that there was anger in it. That he was siding with Seth rather than with him. He clenched his jaw and picked up his backpack, "You know what? Thank you;" he stared at them all, "for reminding me who my real fucking friends are."

 **–**

Kaden's mom parked her car in front of the school and immediately saw her son get out of the car and run towards the opposite side of it to help Acacia. She had given them a ride because Acacia's parents were already working and Kaden refused to let her walk to school.

"I got it," he insisted as he took her backpack and her textbooks.

She smiled at him because he was being really cute at the moment and kind. She thanked his mom for the ride and then stepped out of it. "My hand is broken, you know? That's all. You don't have to treat me like I'm some princess or something because of it."

"You are," he winked at her.

"Are you sure you don't want me to walk you to the office?" Kaden's mom insisted as she rolled down the window to speak to her son's friend. Or ex-girlfriend. Whatever they called themselves.

"No, mom," he answered for her. "She's got it. She has me."

"Okay," she smiled. She loved that her son had been quite the gentleman with her. "Be good."

"Are you nervous?" he asked. This is Acacia's first day back at school since the car accident and since they lived in a small town, she was sure people would stare at her because of it.

"Is it that obvious?" she chuckled and wiped her hand on her jeans.

"Y-yeah," he didn't know if that was the right thing to say because he did not want her day to be ruined. He wanted it to be perfect and he would make sure of it. "But, you shouldn't be worried, it's just school."

"A girl gets into a tragic car accident with her older brother and now goes back to school for the first time since," she tells him, "People will stare."

And they did. It's like she suddenly grew a light bulb on the top of her head that people could see and just stare at. The walk to the office was long and one of the most embarrassing things she had ever done.

No one paid attention to her other than her closest friends and now that she had been in an accident, everybody cared about her enough to stare. She was only comfortable with it because Kaden was there by her side.

Like he had promised.

 **–**

 **Friday**

Missy knocked on a door she had never seen before. Behind it was the black room and she was only standing there because she wanted to talk to someone The photography room was somewhere she went only to "speak" to a special someone. And by speaking, it was just an excuse to see Josh when in reality they would do more than just speak

Going back to that place reminded her of all the things and memories she and Josh did.

The door opened and surely, Josh was standing behind it. "Missy? Hey?" He looked around her and realized that she had come alone. "What are you doing here?"

"Do you have a minute?" she asked him.

He didn't know if he was in the mood to speak with her, but eventually, he decided to let her in. "Is there something you need?"

"What?" she asked. "No, not at all. I just feel like I am the reason you are upset with us? With us all?"

He didn't deny it. He focused his attention on what he normally did in the room and did not answer her. Missy waited and waited thinking that at some point, he would answer but he never did.

"You're just going to ignore me?"

"I'm mad, yes," he answered. "I'm always gonna be mad because of the way you broke up with me. It's always gonna upset me because you keep putting your life in danger."

"What difference would it make even if the police are involved," she countered. "I understand that you are upset. But this is our decision. You can choose to accept it but if you don't Josh, I am sorry but you will lose both Maya and me."

He turned back to her, "I don't want any of you to get hurt, that's all."

"We know what we are getting into? But if he wanted us dead we would've already been. He's planning something, Josh. I can feel it. And we will need your help the minute it happens. Can you please come back?"

He wanted to say no. Everything they were doing was what he hated. He hated mystery, he hated murder and everything linked to it, but both Maya and Missy had become so invested in it. As much as he hated it, he knew that keeping them safe was far more important. "Okay," he agreed. "I'm in."

"Really?" she squealed. "Are you serious?"

He nodded.

 **–**

Anthony grabbed a pebble from the dirt and threw it at Matías' window. As soon as the rally ended, he walked straight to his house instead of his own because he wanted to see him. On his way there he had time to think about what he had done and how he was going to explain himself to him. He waited for Matías to peak his head through the window and since he didn't respond the first time, he grabbed another pebble and threw it at his window. There was no response.

He tried again the third time and the front door opened.

"What the hell?" he stepped out. "You're gonna break my window."

Anthony stared at him confused. The only reason he was throwing pebbles at his window was because he tried knocking the first time and Matías didn't open the door. He quickly realized how much Matías didn't want to talk to him. "I just thought you were - "

"I'm not."

"Can we talk?" he asked him, his voice was soft and he didn't know why. He intentionally made the face that Matías always liked. He pleaded with his puppy dog eyes. "Please?"

"You should go back to school."

"School's out."

"Then go home," he deadpanned, he wasn't as angry with him as he used to be but he was not in the mood to speak with him. "You're wasting your time coming here. You live ten minutes away ... you need to go home."

Anthony started to walk towards him and he managed to get close enough to him, but Matías started to back away. "Please?"

The look in his eyes made him want to give him a chance, but he fought with himself to do so. He wanted to stay mad, he wanted to stay angry with him but even despite what he did, his anger felt like a reach. They looked at each other for a few seconds before he eventually nodded and opened the door wide enough for him to enter.

His face lightened when he saw this. As soon as he was inside, he turned to look at him before he sat down on the couch and waited for Matías to join him. He looked around the house and noticed that it was still the same. The kitchen table was stacked with textbooks and notebooks, "Is that homework?"

"I'm on independent study. I won't be returning to school anytime soon so my dad figured this would be the smart thing to do."

"Anytime soon?" he asked. This wasn't what he wanted to hear. He wanted to hear that he would be back and happy. He didn't know how he would survive without him.

"I'm just not ready to go back," he confessed. "But that's not why you're here. So why are you here?"

He waited many weeks to finally explain himself and the minute he got to, he couldn't speak. He found himself choking on his own words. After a few seconds he finally managed. "You deserve to know what happened that night," he began. "I can't live with you being angry at me...I mean it's literally killing me." Anthony waited until the moment was right for him to do so. "That day, Geb and I were both high when it happened. We only smoked weed that's all," he added the second he noticed the look on Matías face when he said he was high. "I am not that person anymore. I haven't been that person since the day I met you."

There was a silence and he began to speak again, "That day, I was out of it. I wasn't me. I hadn't been me for the longest time. My parents were arguing, my grades were slipping, I was doing things I never thought I would be doing and I was a horrible person. I was sitting down on a table, drinking and smoking and I saw Ruben. I thought that it'd be a good idea to hit him - I was so stupid. I just don't know why I didn't stop." His eyes began to water. "The day after, what I did was all I could think about. I wanted to do something about it. I wanted to see him and apologize but Geb wouldn't let me. He said that I could get arrested and it scared me. Seth told me he deleted the video and he didn't. Instead, he kept it in a flash drive. He could use it against me anytime he wants."

"Just please tell me how I can make it up to you." Anthony begged.

Matías heard him out. He looked at him, seeing that he had been crying and he would be lying if he said he felt sorry for what Anthony had done. It still wasn't enough to forgive him. He adjusted himself on the couch and watched Anthony wipe the tears from his cheek, "Seth can't have leverage on you if the truth is out."

"W-what?" he asked.

"You know what you need to do."

He stopped looking at him when he realized what Matías wanted him to do. His eyes trailed down to his fingers and he began to play with them. "I know what I did was bad. Matías, I really do. And you know that I am not like that anymore. But what Geb and Seth do is so much worse - and they continue to do it. I can't..." he trailed off. "I don't think that I can..."

"It's not about them," he opposed, "They're assholes, we know that already."

"But I'm not an asshole."

"Then you would do the right thing," he watched as the color from Anthony's face drained. "You would do the right thing," he repeated himself. "Isn't that what you want to do?"

He wiped his eyes and tried to hold his sobs. He had accepted the fact that he made mistakes but he never thought about fixing them.

"I'm gonna ask you something and I'm only going to ask you this once - because in the end it will just hurt us both," he stared at Anthony, "Besides James and Ruben, is there anyone else you have physically hurt or put in the hospital?" He didn't answer right away and instead just closed his eyes even more, Matías took this as a yes. "Who?"

"Mason."

Matías stood up from his couch. He walked towards the front door and opened it, signaling for him to leave. When Anthony was by the door, Matías whispered, "Do the right thing."

 **–**

Riley walked home from school alone. She was thinking about Anthony and about what he said. Something about telling them what they did - as if they had done something bad that she was not aware of.

As she continued to walk, she rounded the corner and walked up the stairs in her front door. Sitting on the door matt was a shoebox with the words Riley written on it. She turned to look all around her and saw that no one was near. She picked up the box and walked inside her house.

Once inside, she opened the box and saw dozens and dozens of more polaroids of what looked like Lauren's body. One caught her attention because she had seen someone else in the picture.

When she realized who the man was and what he was doing, she gasped, dropped the picture and covered her mouth. "Oh my God," she cried. "It's him."

She ran towards her backpack which she left on the couch in the living room and grabbed her phone. She dialed Maya's number and waited for her to answer.

"He - "

"I know who killed Lauren," she interrupted.

 **–**

"How was your first day," Kaden asked Acacia as he walked her home. He volunteered to carry all her books and even her backpack but she said that she could manage it. He figured the least he could do was carry her backpack. Walking with her brought many memories of their relationship, he always looked forward towards the end of school because it meant seeing her. While he stared at her, he noticed that a strand of her hair moved towards her face and she was having difficulty moving it. He moved the strand of hair behind her ear and then caressed her cheek.

She sheepishly smiled, "It's was great. I do see people occasionally stare and they ask if I am okay, but that will just take a bit of getting used to."

"Just let me know if anyone is giving you a hard time, okay?" he smiled and so did she. As they walked, he realized they were getting closer to her house and he was not ready to let her go. "Do you remember when we were dating?" he asked. "How we would always go out for ice cream?

"I do," came the answer he was looking for.

"Let's go," he suggested. "C'mon."

She didn't know if she should go or not because maybe her brother wanted her home. "I don't have money."

"You're not the one paying. I am."

She looked towards her house because she could see it from where she stood, "Okay. I'll go. But only for a few minutes."

As soon as they entered the store, they go their ice cream and sat down on a table just outside of it. The day was perfect for ice cream, even if they were in the winter season. "I see what you are doing."

"What am I doing?" he asked.

"This is exactly what we would do if we were on a date."

He smiled, "Are you saying we're on a date?" As soon as he said this, his phone screen turned on but he didn't notice it because his eyes were staring at Acacia. Acacia, on the other hand, did see it and it was because of an incoming call from Lily. His girlfriend.

When Kaden noticed where her eyes went, his saw Lily's name on his screen and quickly turned his phone off. "It's okay," Acacia spoke. "You don't have to - "

"No," he sighed. "It's just that she's upset."

"Upset? Why would she be upset?"

"Yeah," he scratched his head, "I broke up with her because I still had feelings for you and...she's been mad ever since."

"Oh," Acacia could only say, she was taken by surprise. She didn't know they broke up. "Y-you told her."

"I didn't want to lie to her." He placed his hand over hers and laced his fingers with hers, "I only have feelings for one girl."

 **–**

Anthony knocked on a nice looking door and then wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. He knew what he was about to do and the troubles it would bring, which was why he said goodbye to Matías. His heart was racing to a point where he was groaning in pain. His shallow breathes were consuming him and he was having difficulty remaining conscious.

When the door opened, he turned to look at the two people standing behind it. "Are you Ruben Porter's parents?"

They looked at each other before returning their attention back to the young man behind their door. "Yes."

* * *

 **Writers Note:** **Tell me what you guys think about this chapter and feel free to leave a review. What do you guys think about Kaden and Acacia? What about Anthony and Matías?**

 **Follow, Favorite and Review**


	33. Chapter 33

**Writers Note: So you guys are extremely close to the finale of this series and honestly I'm both excited and relieved. This story took a great portion of my year and I am excited to move on. I've even been brainstorming some ideas for a new story that is not GMW - but for a different fandom and I think I might make it a romance. We will see. I hope you read because this is _the_ chapter. ;). **

**...**

 **Junior Year**

 **Monday**

It was him. It was _Hyde_.

He killed Lauren.

Maya watched as the police took him in handcuffs. They were walking passed the students in the hall who all gathered to watch.

She watched as his eyes narrowed on hers and how hostile he was when the police walked him out. The pictures that were left on Riley's doorstep contained photos of Hyde murdering Lauren and that's how they were able to catch him. They gave the photo to Matías' brother and he was able to tell them what they were supposed to do.

Every single student was crowded in the hallways and watched him go. They pulled out their phones and started to record. Maya knew that in a few minutes, this event would make headlines and there would be articles and news reports on it.

She couldn't believe it was over. Just like that.

One minute they were scared for their lives and wrapped in a murder plot that a killer perpetrated and the next they were watching him get arrested. She watched as Missy began to cry and watch him walk, she was having a hard time comprehending what had happened as well.

The bell signaling the start of class and a remaining officer spoke, "Everybody get to class. Now!"

It took a while for everyone to disperse but when they did Maya grew mad. "Are they serious?" she asked Riley. "They're really making us go to class?"

She ran a hand through her hair and began to walk, "This school is the worst."

Maya couldn't seem to wrap her head around the fact that Hyde was Lauren's killer, that he was also Nina's killer. He had been right under their nose for the longest time and they never thought to suspect him.

He was hidden in plain sight and that was why they didn't catch onto him.

 **–**

Missy couldn't stand to watch any more. She left before the bell rang and proceeded to walk as far away from it as possible. As she walked, she noticed that Geb was in the student lounge, he was sitting and on his phone. She was about to leave but that's when Geb noticed her, "Are you okay?" She stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him. A part of her was skeptical as to why he asked, they knew each other but not well enough to care about each others feelings. She shook her head no and that's when he stood up and sauntered towards her, "You saw, didn't you?"

"Yeah," she confirmed and rubbed her hands. "I can't believe he was right under our nose this whole time." He sat her down and she rested her head on his shoulder, "I thought that seeing him get arrested, that seeing him walk away knowing that this was his last day of freedom would make me feel better, but it didn't. It just hurts."

"Everything hurts," he could agree with her on that. After his relationship with Riley ended, everything in his life began to fall apart. His friendships, his life, everything. "I'm not down for Chem, do you want to go somewhere?"

Missy was going to say no but one look at his face changed her mind. She wanted a distraction, a heavy distraction. Everything in her body ached and she wanted everything to stop. The only thing she wanted to feel in the moment was pleasure. "Where would we go?"

"Anywhere."

She looked into his eyes and it brought back memories of when they would sneak out of school and do things they weren't supposed to. "Are your parents home?"

He furrowed his brows and shook his head. "Why would that matter?"

"Because," she leaned closer to him and seductively touched his thigh, "I don't wanna talk."

 **–**

Matías decided to move from doing his homework at home to working on it at Poet's. As he finished, he looked at his notebook beside him and sighed. Picking it up and turning to the first page, he began to write.

 _Jan 14, 2018_

 _I've decided to start this thing where I write about my day. It's cliche and only done in movies but it helps with dealing with the terrible things in life._

 _I've heard the words diary, I've heard the words journal and I do not like them. And this is not what this is, so think of it more as a story. Because it looks and sounds like one._

He stopped writing when someone sat down on his table. When he looked up to see who it was that had sat next to him, he realized that it was Lena, a senior in his school. They met when he was a freshman and they were both taking the same math class. Fortunately for her, they were seated together and he helped her with everything. Including finals.

"It's been so long, how are you holding up?" She knew about the crash and part of it was the reason she was talking to him.

"Good," he felt comfortable speaking to her because they were really close a few years back. "It's gonna take time and I'll be okay."

"That's great," she smiled. "You are have to be one of the luckiest slash bravest people out there."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, you survived Kayla. You saw what happened in the bathroom between James and Anthony and still managed to get help. And...the crash. You survived that too."

"That sounds unlucky to me," he joked. When she mentioned James, it made him feel sad because he had been in a coma for the longest time. Thinking about it made him feel sad. He wasn't awake for Christmas nor New Years and he was sure that he had missed his birthday because of the coma. He knew he was to blame for what happened to him in the first place. "I haven't seen James in the longest time," he spoke. "I really do hope he's okay." As soon as he said this, the smile on her lips fell. It was like he had something wrong. "What?"

"Y-you haven't heard?" Lena asked, staring at him as if he revealed something tragic.

"What is it?" the look on his face made him believe something huge happened and he was unaware of it.

"Matías, I didn't know - "

"Know what?" he asked. He looked at Lena expecting her to answer his question but she never did, "Lena, tell me. I wanna know."

She clutched her chest and her eyes began to water, "Matías...James is dead. He died last night."

His dark brown eyes widened. He was completely surprised by what she had said. For a while he didn't know what to do, he didn't know what to say and all he could think about was the day he helped Anthony cover up what he had done. The pounding in his chest had now reached his neck and eventually, he was unable to speak. He could barely breathe.

He started to grab his things and when everything was in his hands, he walked away. Holding in his sobs.

 **–**

When Lucas noticed that he was missing his chemistry textbook, he asked his teacher if he could go get it because it was in his locker. The thing was, his textbook was at home and he only said it was in his locker because he didn't want to get in trouble.

He drove home and then drove back, but as he parked his car in the student parking lot, he noticed that Seth was speaking to a suspicious looking man who constantly looked all around him. He slowly stepped out of his car and that was when Seth and the man shook his hands.

While Seth walked away, he looked at his hands and it was clear to Lucas that he and the man had exchanged something.

And then it hit him.

The man Seth was talking to was a dealer, and he had just bought weed off of him.

 **–**

Missy's body was rubbing against Geb's as she released low moans and caressed his chest. She leaned her head back and moved herself against him, they had been doing this for a few minutes and she was starting to grow tired.

A few minutes later, she got off of him and laid down on his bed. Breathing and covered in sweat.

"It's been a while," he spoke with a smile on his lips. "A few months at least."

"And nothing has changed," she told him and reached for her bra which she had discarded on his floor. "Start getting dressed."

"What? Where are we going?"

"We're not going anywhere," Missy confirmed. "You're taking me home."

"What? Already? I thought that maybe we could..." he stopped talking and sat upright, watching her get dressed. "So this didn't mean anything to you? Nothing?"

"It meant pleasure," she blatantly answered him. She was still mad at him for labeling her as Best in Bed during that whole scenario with Riley went down. "Get dressed." When she said this, she noticed that his facial expression changed. He reached for his underwear and put it on. "C'mon, it's not like you weren't thinking of Riley while I sucked your..." she stopped talking because he had reached for his pants. "It's time, Geb. Don't you think?"

"I love her," he said it in a way that let her know he would not stop chasing after Riley. "She knows it."

She was now fully clothed and ready to leave, but she stopped in order to tell him something, "Moving on is the best feeling in the world. Just thought you should hear that."

 **–**

When Anthony asked if he could use the bathroom, the teacher looked skeptical. Given his history with a certain bathroom incident that involved a student to get hospitalized, he felt weird asking every time - especially in front of his classmates.

Surprisingly, the teacher let him go.

As he walked the empty halls, he couldn't help but think of Matías and how they used to be together. Those moments made him feel something he had never felt before and he grew obsessed with it. He felt some type of way with it and the fact that they weren't okay at the moment broke his heart. While he walked, he noticed the school counselor lead two somber parents towards the same place he was going.

"This was his locker," the counselor spoke and brought them to it. He looked at the piece of paper in his hands and entered the pin.

"These are his things?" the woman asked. Anthony could see the look on her face. He could see that she had spent a lot of time crying lately.

"Yes," the counselor confirmed. "Mrs. Steinfield, James was a brilliant student. Loved by many I am sure of it. I'm deeply sorry for your loss."

Anthony stepped back. What loss?

It was beginning to make sense. The announcement made over the PA about safety and grieving, the somber expressions on the faces of the parents, the fact that they were here to collect his things made him understand.

James was dead.

 **–**

"Our spot," Josh confirmed and he turned to look at Maya. He knew that after seeing Hyde get arrested for murdering Lauren, she wouldn't want to stay in class and learn anything new. So he asked if he could take her out for a ride and she agreed.

That ride was supposed to end an hour ago but she refused to leave him. He didn't want to be the guy that brought this influence on her but when she mentioned their spot, he had to bring her.

"I'm never gonna get tired of coming here," she said as she sat down on the white wood and leaned her head on the wooden fence. "Sit," she patted for him to sit beside her.

"The first day I brought you here, you were complaining about the walk and the dry grass. Do you remember?"

"I was wearing sandals and you refused to carry me, do you remember that?" He started to smile and she looked at him. "We were very happy together at one point."

His smile faded. "Until I fucked it over - "

"That's not what I meant."

"I know it's not. It's what I did, Maya. I don't know how you could forgive me for that."

"When you live in fear for months, you tend to forgive what doesn't live up to that fear," his eyes looked different with the bright sun reflecting on them, "I don't hate you. Not one bit. Okay?"

"Okay," he said. "It's really good to know."

A silence spread as they started to look out into the distance. The light wind was a cool breeze and it made the both of them feel lighter and less anxious. "Do you ever think about our kiss? The one in my car? When I dropped you off?"

"A lot," he answered. "You?"

"I do."

"Why did you bring it up?"

"Because," she didn't know if now was the time to finally tell him. Especially on the day their principal was arrested but she took her chances. She didn't know how this would shift their conversation and she hoped it wouldn't make it awkward. "I still like you."

Josh laughed because he found it adorable. He loved every second of her confession but there was something he had to say, "I still like you too, Maya. But I'll be graduating soon. You'll have to focus on school because I know that your grades will start to slip...with everything that will happen with our lives, we won't work out."

She agreed. "It doesn't mean we can't still do this."

"I know it doesn't. Because I plan on spending a lot of time with you." Her smile and her laugh meant everything to him. Every time he saw it meant that he was doing something right. He looked into her blue eyes, the most beautiful he has ever seen. "Have you ever heard of the long game?"

 **–  
**

"Did you hear?" Anthony asked as he barged into Matías' home. It took a while to find him but when he did, he saw that he was in his room. He was cleaning it like he normally did whenever he was scared. "Did I really kill him?"

Matías didn't have the strength to answer him, he continued to clean and Anthony took his silence for an answer. He began to walk back and forth, his hands running through his hair and then hitting himself because he felt stupid for doing what he did. The more and more he let the thoughts sink in, the more he realized that he was a terrible person. That with the life he was given, he was able to take someone else's.

"We don't know that, yet - "

"What do you mean?" he questioned, his voice rising. Anger and fear taking over him as he paced back and forth in his room. "I was the one that pushed him. He slipped because of me."

"But why did he slip in the first place?" Matías retaliated. He knew he had a point to prove and he wanted to sound as convincing and persuasive as possible. "He slipped because the bathroom floor was wet. There was no yellow warning sign. Nothing that could've helped prevent the fight." They stayed quiet for a second. "James has been in a coma for a month, maybe even more. What if there could've been a mix up in the hospital? It could've been the doctor's fault?"

"You're making it seem like it was everyone else's fault, but mine," Anthony told Matías. He looked at him and tried to search for a part of him that believed he was guilty and to be partially blamed. But he couldn't. "I am the one who put him there in the first place."

"James parents could literally sue the school if they wanted to. They won't pay attention to what we did, we convinced the police, we told them the truth."

"The truth?" he was starting to panic. The sweat had extended from his armpits to his back and his chest. "We told them your truth. I lied because you told me to lie!"

"I need you to listen to me," he said with a tone that helped calm him down, "Let's assume I didn't tell you to lie. What would happen?"

He scoffed because he didn't want to answer that. His heart started racing just thinking about it. As he took off his sweater, he closed his eyes because he began to feel like he could partially breathe again.

"Answer me!" Matías nearly yelled.

Anthony didn't speak. Instead, he just walked back and forth, crying.

"You would've been arrested for aggravated battery," he explained. "You'd do time, Anthony. And then, when the police find out that James died, you'll go down for murdering him. Is that what you want?"

"If James parents do sue the school, they would have every reason too. I mean, Hyde and Bayard were murderers and they worked there. Bayard was sleeping with a student and we almost died in that school?!"

"But we didn't, you see? We didn't die, Matías."

He didn't know what else to say. He felt like he had been arguing for the longest time and exhausted every point he could possibly argue.

"I have two scars to prove the shit we went through. And every time I see it, it's a constant reminder of what happened. I can't live with myself like this. I'm a fuck up. I've failed. I have literally failed in everything."

Matías watched as he expressed how terrible he's felt. He got to see Anthony completely hit rock bottom as he expressed everything he has done and felt.

"I'm gonna do it," he said as he walked towards the front door.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm gonna go turn myself in."

"No, you are not," he grabbed his arm and tried to pull him back but he couldn't. He was too strong. "Anthony, stop!"

"I CAN'T," he yelled fully. The vein in his forehead stood out. "I'm a killer Matías. I killed him. And you're here protecting me."

He spent minutes trying to get him to stop crying, to let himself breathe so that they could speak but it was hard to. He kept withering and crying, talking about how he was a horrible person and how he ruins everything good in his life.

The only thing that could get him to stop freaking out, was by kissing him. He started to kiss back but their kiss ended shortly. "Sometimes it's good to have secrets," Matías spoke. Anthony leaned into his shoulder and started to cry again. He had accepted the fact that he couldn't turn himself in, that he had to deal with what he did the hard way. "Because they protect more people than they do harm."

* * *

 **Writers Note: I tried to not give any hints about Hyde being discovered at the beginning of the chapter so that you can read it and then be surprised. Questions? Ask.  
And poor James. ****The intention for that last scene between Matías and Anthony was supposed to sort of rub you off the wrong way. It's supposed to place in a idea in your head that can be somewhat disturbing. Either you agree or disagree.** **I wanted people to have mixed emotions because what they did was illegal and they are unwilling to confess. Do you think that Matías is in the wrong for not wanting Anthony to turn himself in? Do you think that Matías is a terrible person for doing so? Is Anthony just as much to blame? What do you think about Maya and Josh? The long game?**

 **Let me know in the review section.**

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	34. Chapter 34

**Writers Note: This chapter is really short and sort of a filler but there is something really important revealed at the end of this chapter. Let me know what you think and always feel free to review.**

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

 **Tuesday**

Maya parked her car outside the school and Josh groaned. "I feel like I'm going into a food coma."

She turned to look at the passengers seat and saw that he had tipped his hat to cover his eyes. "You shouldn't have ate so much."

Before schoool started, Josh showed up to Maya's house at 6:45 in the morning to wake her up. He told her to get dressed because she would be driving them to a diner he had been too and she hadn't. Josh decided she should try it for the first time and after a few convincing tries, she said yes and got dressed. Of course Maya being Maya, opted to go with the pancakes and strawberry smoothie because she felt that was the safest decision. Josh being Josh, chose to get five large waffles, an omelete, breakfast burrito, a coffee and milkshake.

He rested in her car, half asleep, and Maya couldn't help but think that maybe they were on a date. He took a lot of pictures of her and even paid for her food, thinking about it made her heart skip a beat. When they entered the school, they were surprised to see that the school hallways were decorated and sticky notes were posted on every locker containing positive quotes and messages. She turned to look at Josh and he looked just as confused as she did. "I'm assuming this is their way of telling us to not be scared."

He approached a locker to read what the sticky notes said, "Everything is better at the end of the road," he read. "What type of compliment is this?"

"A stupid one," she finished. "I swear this school never fails to disappoint me."

"This school disappoints everyone."

"Tell me about it. I mean first, it was the nationwide backlash this school faced for Nina's death. Then the conflicts with James and Anthony, a wanted killer was discovered to be our principal and they feel like they will ease our fears with sticky notes?" Maya asked.

They continued to walk, side by side and Maya began to think about Josh and Missy rather than the school. The more they walked, the more she grew curious about their status. Even though he confessed they were in it for the long game, she couldn't help but think that something was still happening between them. "Have you spoke to Missy, like at all?" she asked him.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm just curious."

"We have," he answered. "And we agreed that we are just friends now and our time dating is just history. I moved on, she's moved on, we've both moved on."

Maya smiled when he said that he has moved on from her. She liked feeling and knowing that they would be together someday because it brought back promises they told each other when they were together.

 **–**

"Can I come over after school?" Lucas asked Riley as they walked down the hallways together. He laced his hands with her's and noticed that she was wearing a new shirt, a strawberry colored off the shoulder top with her hair up and little strands to shape her face. She looked beautiful and he couldn't help but smile.

"Actually, I'm not going home right away. I'll be at Matías' house," she told him and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. They continued to walk and rounded a corner.

"Didn't he want to be left alone?" he asked.

"He does," she answered, "Mainly. But I texted him and he answered right away, surprisingly. I won't be there for long but if you want to go to my house you can, we keep the key under the door matt, remember?"

He nodded.

As they continued to walk, they noticed that some students had gathered in front of a locker and were staring at it. Some placed flowers over it while others just watched. When Riley and Lucas pushed their way through, they noticed who's locker it belonged to. It was James.

She couldn't believe it at first.

James was the student that Anthony got into a fight with in the school bathroom. He was the one who slipped and cracked his head open on the bathroom floors.

She thought that they were just showing respect for him because he was still in his coma, but then the girl next to her muttered something about sadness and she knew her initial thought must've been right all along, "Is he dead?" Riley asked.

The girl beside her nodded. "So sad."

They walked away from his locker. "That's why Anthony didn't come to school," Lucas concluded and reached for his phone. "Don't worry about it. I'll talk to him. You go talk to Matías and I'll talk to Anthony."

 **–**

Acacia had trouble performing normal daily activities because of her hand. Part of the reason she was dreading coming to school was that she would need help using the bathroom because of the enormous cast on her arm that prevented her from using it. She stepped out of the stall and went to wash her hand when she finished she dried it and picked up her book.

While picking up her book, her hand failed to fully grab it and it slipped out of her hand and fell to the ground. She knew she couldn't pick it up because her hand prevented it, so she was forced to use her feet.

Since no one else was in the bathroom, she had no one to help her.

She struggled for minutes and as if for some miracle, a person walked in. She would've asked for help had it not been Lily, Kaden's ex-girlfriend and the one who performed with her during the recital. She knew that Lily had every right to be mad at her and laugh her for being a loser, but she didn't do that. She approached her and her kneeled down, picking up her book in the process and it handing it back to her.

"Thank you," Acacia said.

"No problem," Lily responded and walked into a stall.

Before she could fully enter, Acacia called out to her and she stepped out of the stall. "I hope we can still be friends."

"We never stopped."

She walked out of the bathroom with a slight smile on her lips. A few steps later, Kaden joined her side and asked if she was okay. He had seen Lily enter the bathroom after she had.

"I'm fine," she answered him. "She helped me with a book I dropped and I asked her if we could be friends. She said that we already were."

He let out a breath of relief. "Really? That's great. That's good to know," he didn't know why he was so unsure about the way Lily would treat Riley but he was glad there was nothing wrong between the two. "Hey, listen, my family is having a bonfire this weekend and I want you to come."

She didn't know what to say because he dropped the news on her so casually and without a warning.

He watched her facial expression change and he grew under the idea that she did not want to go. "You don't have to if you don't want to," he began to panic.

"No, that's not it. I just - Lily met your parents not too long ago and since you're inviting me...I just don't want them to think that I am that kind of girl."

"Don't be ridiculous," he stopped walking and took her stuff from her hands to relieve her of the weight. "You know my parents like you."

She smiled because she liked his parents too.

"And you just want us to be friends, remember?" Kaden reminded. "So that's what we are. That's what my family thinks we are."

"That's great. So, what time do you want me to be there?"

 **–**

Riley had to admit that going back to Matías' house felt strange. She hadn't been there in the longest time.

She thought of many ways she would start their talk. She was there to talk to him about his car accident but she didn't know how she would slip the question about James. If she said it in a way that would offend him, which she most likely would, she would feel responsible for making him cry.

Before thinking, she knocked on his door and waited for him to open it.

He did a few seconds after.

The first thing she noticed about him was his eyes, he looked as if he had been crying. All she could do at the moment was hug him and tell him that he would get through it. He was strong.

She walked inside his house and sat down on his living room couch. Some of the pictures on the wall had changed from the time before. There was a picture of his grandma, one of his siblings as kids, and his parents when they recently got married. She noticed that there were none of him. "Everyone at school misses you."

He wanted to say that he disagreed but he didn't want to talk about that. He only had a handful of friends and right now he felt like neither of them were worth talking to. He only wanted to talk to Riley because he needed her. "I'm just not ready to go back. The school knows I'm on independant study and I've been doing good. I'm ahead of all my classes."

"That's good to hear, Matías. But...do you ever plan on going back to school?"

He looked down at his pillow that was resting on his lap, "Not right now. I just... don't feel like going back. After everything that has happened to me...it's not something I think about."

He stopped talking and Riley felt like this was her time to ask him about James. "Did you hear about...him?"

She didn't need to say his name, he already knew where she was going. "I did. I heard." It took a lot for him to not cry. That was all he had done since he heard about the news. "He didn't deserve to die that way."

Riley must've stared at him for a while because she was so confused. She expected him to react in a different way than he was doing. "Have you and Anthony talked about it?"

"No," he lied to her. "I haven't seen him since the accident."

When she first saw that Anthony and Matías were starting to become friends, she was a sophomore and still dating Geb. It made her happy because for a while he didn't hang around them but did stuff on his own with Anthony. She was never close to him but she was able to talk to him more because of Matías. "He's your best friend, don't you think he's concerned for you?"

"I know he is, but he's going through things too. Do you think you can do me a favor?"

"A favor?" she asked him. "What is it?"

"Can you keep an eye on him? On Anthony? I know he's not doing good and on top of that he has school and it's only a matter of time before he breaks. I just need you to be his friend. You were always good at that."

Riley was suspicious but she obliged. She would be Anthony's friend.

 **–**

After Geb managed to control his brother because he had been crying for the last hour, he had trouble falling asleep. He shifted on his bed hours and hours on end trying to force himself to pass out, but he couldn't. He began to think about everything he had done and about Riley and how he messed up their relationship. It was still something he couldn't stop thinking about and he tried many times to fix it but he couldn't. He only fucked everything up.

Somewhere in all the embarrassment, he had brought upon himself, he was able to find the courage to text her. He knew that she was probably asleep and that she wouldn't answer but he still did it.

His text wasn't long but it expressed how much he was sorry and how he still loves her.

Sleeping with Missy did play a factor in this. He felt terrible and it made him think that he betrayed Riley even though they weren't dating.

He decided to follow up his text with another asking her if they could meet up to talk.

As soon as he sent this message, he got out of bed and walked towards his computer. He had done a whole lot of things that no one should have done so he figured that starting over again was a good idea. Instead of hiding his past mistakes like he did last time, he would destroy them.

He brought out the flash drives from his drawer and inserted them into his computer.

He watched a video that he took of Geb a few years ago holding many of the guns he kept in his cabin. They had threatened to shoot up a whole bunch of students they didn't like and that they would hide the bodies without being caught.

Geb placed his hand over his head and sighed because he couldn't believe he did that. He took out the flash drive and set it down on the ground. He then continued to step on it until it broke.

And just like that. The video was gone.

* * *

 **Writers Note: This is perhaps the shortest chapter and it's only short because I decided to take some scenes out. I would like to hear from you guys and know what you guys think. Let me know.**

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	35. Chapter 35

**Writers Note: I wrote this chapter in June after taking a break from writing. I didn't necessarily plan it but it happened and because of it, I had to alter something in the story. Anthony's and Matías friendship is back. I had to take a few scenes out but the main point is clear and you will get to read that. I am so sorry but I had to do this. I am currently re-working some of the new chapters coming up because I didn't really like how they turned out. So stick with me. Thank you so much for reading.**

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

 **Two Days Later**

 _ **THURSDAY**_

 _Do good people with bad mistakes deserve happiness? Do they deserve to smile when the people they've hurt, can't?_

Matías examined a shirtless Anthony cook breakfast. He watched the muscular features on his back, his brown smooth skin, his tousled black hair, from the months and month's he's known him, Matías has learned that despite who they've become, they are their real selves when they are together.

A few days ago, Matías remembered hating him and hating himself for what they have done. He knew he couldn't bring it upon himself to confess the mistakes he's made so they had to hide them and being around him was the answer, as weird as that sounded to him.

 _How did this happen, you ask? It all started with Riley._

 **–**

 _ **WEDNESDAY**_

 _ **The day before...**_

Riley leaned against the wall in front of Anthony's locker and waited. She thought of Matías and what he asked her to do; become Anthony's friend. She wanted to question him at first because Anthony didn't need to make friends, he had plenty and he was quite the talk in the girls locker room. Everybody got along with him and, although Riley didn't know him, she knew he loved to go to parties and drink. He had finally stopped by his locker and the second he did, Riley joined him. "Hey."

"Hi," he said with an eyebrow raised. "What's up?"

When she stared into his eyes, something about the way he looked back at her screamed that he was not feeling okay. That he was hurt and maybe needed someone to talk to. "I just wanted to apologize for the way we've been with you. I know we've been excluding you and I am sorry."

Anthony didn't know that was something he needed to hear. It made him feel better. "It's okay, Riley. You don't -"

"I do," she interrupted him. "It was cruel. I just want you to know that you are our friend and not just because of Matías." The mention of his name made Anthony's eyes glisten and their gaze quickly broke. He placed a palm of his eyes for a split second before looking back at her. "Listen, I'm not doing anything after school. I was hoping maybe we can hang out?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Let's hang out."

 **–**

School came to an end and Riley and Anthony hung out like they planned. Riley wanted them to walk through the woods because she always found it comforting and sometimes therapeutic which was something she thought Anthony needed. They walked but it was often quiet between them. She knew that she was great with people but something about Anthony made it difficult. He was a person with real problems and needed the right person to be there by his side and that's what Riley tried to be, but she was finding it hard. "Do you come here often?"

"I don't," he answered, "But when I was a freshman I did."

"When I was a freshman my life was entirely different. It was boring too and I hated it so much because my parents were so scared I'd wind up dating an upperclassmen who would change me completely."

"My parents were less harsh on me. They know me and they know that I don't get into trouble which I think is why they trusted me more. They just didn't know that I was lying to them basically everyday. Telling them that I was studying in the library when I was drinking with - " he stopped himself because he didn't know if mentioning the name was okay.

"Geb?" Riley asked. "It's okay to say it. It's not like it's a bad word or anything."

He nodded. "He wasn't a good friend you must know that. He's a jerk and an asshole and I was just stupid for hanging out with him."

"I was stupid for dating him. I mean he was controlling and he lied to me a lot, he cheated on me and I never sort of saw right through it. Finding out about him and the fact that he knew who Nina's killer was before everyone just drew the line for me. I had to break up with him. Especially because of you and Matías. You guys could've died that day."

They stopped walking when they reached the river. "That day was tough for all of us."

"Have you and Matías talked?" she kept her eyes on the river because of the sound it was making. "You know ever since his crash."

He didn't know what to say. Tell the truth? If he told the truth then he would have to follow it up with a lie, he always did. He figured that answering the question in a different way would help, "He and I are friends, but sometimes it's good to have space between each other. Even if one of us doesn't like it."

"You want to talk to him, don't you?"

"We're both going through things, so I understand it, but it would be nice to see him. It always is."

She checked her phone and then smiled at the message. Soon enough, Anthony could see from the corner of his eye a figure approach them. It was Matías. Seeing him for some reason made his heart race. That was the affect he had on him.

"He's willing to talk. So talk to him," Riley encouraged.

Riley felt like she had accomplished something and it made her feel better. Matías was one of her best friends and seeing that she had done something for him made her feel useful and proud.

 **–**

 _ **THURSDAY**_

 _ **Present Day**_

"It's ready," Anthony said as he placed the plate of breakfast in front of him. Matías eyes trailed down to see it. It was a sunny side up egg placed inside toasted bread with fruit on the side and orange juice to go with it. He figured it was time Matías understood just how great of a cook he was so he invited him to his house when his parents weren't home.

"It looks great," he complimented and stared back at him. "Come. Sit next to me."

Anthony gave him a smile before he rounded the kitchen island and took a seat next to him, "You've been acting different lately."

"Different? How?" he asked.

"You've become a better you," Anthony informed. "It's like you are still the same person but just...better. Wiser."

"If that's true," Matías said as he placed a grape inside his mouth, "It's because of you."

The compliments warmed his heart. As he watched him eat, Anthony realized just how much he needed him now that he has been away for a couple of weeks. "When do you plan on coming back? You know, to school?"

"Hopefully soon," he answered. "If not, then maybe May."

Hearing this, Anthony knew that they wouldn't be seeing each other for a while. He planned on focusing more on school to raise his grades because he barely passed his finals last semester and he couldn't afford to fail them this year. He gently pinched Matías cheek and then kissed it. "Since you're uncertain, I have an idea."

 **–**

Text after text she read.

Riley didn't understand why Geb suddenly started texting her at two in the morning and didn't stop.

She turned her phone off and slid it into her back pocket when Lucas started walking beside her. She didn't want him to see it because she knew he would react in the way she didn't want him to. "How's your day?" he asked.

"Good," she answered him.

"Great," he took her hand and kissed her palm. "Hey, I was wondering if I could spend the night at your place? My parents have been arguing lately and I don't think I could handle that tonight, would you mind?"

"No," she answered. "Not at all. You can spend the night any time."

"Thank you."

"But, about your parents...are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?" she looked at him because she cared for him just like he cared for her.

He shook his head no. He wanted to forget their arguments even though it has been happening for a few days now. "I'm okay, Riley. I'm good it's just that things like this...I don't like to talk about."

"It's okay. I understand."

"Good," he kissed her forehead. "I'll you see you there. And I'll bring takeout."

 **–**

"It's been a while," Maya said as she spoke to her art teacher, Mrs. Macy. "I know I don't stay after school as much as I used to."

"Don't worry about it, Maya," she spoke as she worked on her drawing. She knew that part of the reason she hadn't been coming after school was because of everything that has been happening to her. "How are you holding up? Are you okay?"

"Believe it or not, but you're the first teacher to ask me that," the blonde smiled. She loved how she had managed to begin a close friendship with one of the only teachers she looked up to in this school. "I'm better. It's good to know that the son of a bitch has been arrested...sorry."

"No, don't apologize. I always knew there was something up with that guy. I'm just glad he got arrested before he could harm any other kid."

Maya walked towards the sink to wash off her brushes because she would be leaving soon. Her mom wanted her home early because she was still frightened and worried for her.

"Hey, you never told me what happened between you and Seth? I would assume everything is okay?"

Maya turned back to look at her. Her eyes were staring right at her and she gave her a gentle smile. "Um, no. Actually, that ended. Josh and I, on the other hand, are in it for the long game?"

"Long game?" she asked.

"It's a promise," Maya answered her. She picked up her backpack and started to approach the door, "Someday, when the day comes, we will try things out again."

"How romantic," she smiled. "You're a very pretty girl Maya, you deserve him and he deserves you."

"Thank you, Mrs. Macy. It was nice seeing you. I hope we can hang outside of school someday."

"I would love that. Thank you."

 **–**

Missy knocked on Josh's door. When she found out that he wasn't at school, she knew that he must be home. The reason that she wanted to talk to him was because she had something important to tell him. She wanted him to know something that she wouldn't have the courage to tell anyone else. As she waited for him to open the door, she felt her palms grow sweaty and she wiped them with her pants. The news she was going to tell him scared her because she didn't know how he would react to it.

The door opened and Josh let her in.

"Why-why are you here?" he asked. He didn't ask this to sound rude he asked this because he genuinely didn't know why. Missy looked like she had been crying and he wanted to know why but she had avoided his question many times. She needed time to think about how she was going to say it and it didn't help that she was on the verge of a panic attack.

"I - " she struggled to make out her words. She began to look around his living room and noticed that his computer was propped open and he had dozens and dozens of papers out on dining table. The tab on his computer showed a university in California. "Is that where you are going to college?"

He looked towards where she was looking, "That doesn't matter."

"Josh, is that where you are going after high school? California?"

"Yes," he answered her. "Now can you tell me what is wrong?"

Missy sighed and wiped the tears from her eyes. "It's doesn't matter anymore."

Josh watched as Missy opened the door to his house and slammed it shut after she stepped out.

 **–**

"You know my parents are nuts for saying yes to this," Matías said as he watched Anthony travel to and around the car dozens and dozens of times. He was placing their bags in there because Matías' parents have agreed to let them go camping for one day. "They're only being this generous because they think this is a good experience for me and that it will help take my mind off things."

"I don't care," he chuckled, "We're still going. So you can enjoy life and nature. We'll be back by tomorrow morning, I promise." He looked into his brown eyes and it was clear to Matías that Anthony was expecting an answer, "C'mon please," he begged. "You won't regret it, I promise."

"We're in winter," he reminded. "Don't you think it'll get cold?"

"Who cares if we're in winter? And I doubt it'll be cold. The suns out, the leaves are still out. So, what do you say?"

"Sixteen hours with you?" he asked, trying to be funny. From the look on Anthony's face, it was clear he succeeded. "Okay," he caved. "I'll go but...just shut up."

He started to laugh and grabbed his bag before placing it in the car. "Lucky for you, my parents go camping every summer. I happen to know everything about it."

"Good. I wouldn't want to get lost."

Anthony got inside the driver's seat and waited for Matías to get in. But he stayed outside looking at the car, not wanting to move. He was confused at first but when he rolled down the window to get a view on him, he realized why he was so still.

He had been in a car crash.

"Oh, Matías," he muttered, he hated himself for forgetting.

"No, it's okay," he tried to not make a big deal out of it. "It's just that I haven't been in a car since... that day"

Anthony took the keys out of the engine and joined him. "Listen, we don't have to go. We could do something else..."

"Shut up," he said as he playfully pushed him and got inside the car. "You already convinced me there's no need to get serious again."

Anthony turned around and saw that Matías had already sat down in the passenger's seat, his little smile bring back his hyped mood. "That's what I love about you."

This compliment made him feel good. He let out a visible smile and put his seatbelt on, "Just get in the car and drive before I leave without you."

 **–**

Riley and Lucas were cuddling together and watching an episode of Friends. During the episode, she started to laugh and normally so would Lucas but when she turned to look at him, he was sleeping. She wanted to dismiss it so much but she couldn't. She had seen his somber expression and the look of dead on his face for a while now and she knew she couldn't keep it to herself. "Lucas? Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he answered and rubbed his eyes. "Just...watch the show."

It took a lot of strength to respect what he said because he told her he didn't like to speak about it. While continuing to watch the episode, Lucas fell asleep again and he lost his balance, causing him to make a frightened noise. "Are you sure you're okay? Because it doesn't sound or look like it."

He sat upright because he knew she wouldn't give it a rest now. She turned to face him, they were no longer cuddling. "I said I'm alright."

"Lucas," he didn't look at her. "What exactly are your aunt and uncle arguing about?"

"Can we please not talk about this?" he asked. "Riley, just watch the goddamn episode. Give it a rest!" It was clear that Lucas' tone was growing. He was both angry and sad, but that didn't stop her.

"You need to talk to me. I tell you everything, but now you're keeping secrets from me?" He got off her bed and started walking towards the living room, she followed after him. "Are you seriously not going to tell me?"

"Are you hungry?" he asked ignoring her question. He opened the refrigerator door and searched the food inside, "I can make you - "

"Lucas!" she yelled at him and he finally snapped.

He slammed the door shut and leaned his head against it. He didn't want to talk about it but he hated keeping it a secret from her. He felt her hands touch him and she pulled him for a hug, one he took comfort in. "They're arguing because my aunt wants me to go back to Texas and my uncle doesn't. Every time I bring up the subject or anything, they start to argue and it lasts for hours. I can't sleep, Riley. I can't sleep."

She caressed the back of his head and processed the news she told him. It broke her heart that his aunt was considering taking him back to Texas. "Do you want to go back?"

"What?" he questioned. "Of course not. I want to stay here, I wanna stay with you."

"Lucas," she stopped holding him and stepped back. "You should really talk to them. Did you tell them you were staying here? With me?"

He shook his head no. "I don't want to talk to them." He sat down on the stool and looked at her, "They hate this town and I don't blame them. I mean Kayla, Bayard, Hyde, the school," he began, "It so much that death has become a normal thing in this town. But I don't want to go back to Texas, Riley. I don't think I can leave you."

She took a seat next to him and kissed his forehead, "You need to go home to them. I haven't seen you touch your phone at all today which means they must be worried about you. Talk to them, tell them how you feel and whatever they decide, I'll be okay with it. They want what's best for you and so do I."

"Riley," he kissed her hands. "I don't want to - "

"I'll grab your stuff," she interrupted him.

 **–**

The campsite Anthony picked out was nice and small. Normally, he was sure he would complain about it but this time it was different. He didn't have anything to criticize.

The first thing they did when they arrived, Anthony began to set up the tent. Matías was tasked with searching around them for wooden branches so they could start the fire. When he came back, he was holding a whole bunch of them in his arms. "Oh," he said as he looked behind Anthony.

"What? Is something wrong?" he asked and looked around him. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"There's only one tent," Matías told him.

Anthony mentally cursed himself because he didn't think of bringing two. He was still somewhat wrapped in the idea that they were okay with each other and perhaps still more than friends, but Matías had reminded him that they weren't anymore. They were just friends.

"Errrrrr," he scratched the back of his head. His face growing red with embarrassment. "I'll - I'll drive back - "

"No," he interrupted and started to laugh. "Don't be stupid. I don't mind as long as you don't hog the blanket or move a lot."

"Don't worry," he smiled and took the sticks from his hands, "I'll get started on the fire."

"Yeah," he looked at the sky, "It'll get dark soon. Did you bring the lanterns?"

"It's in the car," he informed.

Matías turned to it and before he could take a step, he stopped because he heard his name.

"It's locked," he reached into his pockets and pulled out his car key. In doing so, something fell out it. Something Matías wasn't expecting. He looked at the squared wrapper and before he could look away, he knew what it was.

A condom.

Anthony picked it up quickly and placed it back in his pocket before tossing him the keys. Matías tried to play it off like he didn't notice, but he did. He just hoped this wouldn't make anything awkward.

 **–**

When Lucas entered his home, his aunt and uncle were sitting in the living room. They had been arguing so loudly that he could hear it from outside the door. He set his things down on the couch and they went to hug him. "You had us worried," his aunt spoke.

"I was at Riley's," he answered.

"At this hour? You know to come home, Lucas."

"I know."

His aunt looked at him and then turned to her husband, she knew then that they must let him know the decision they have made. "Sit. We have something to tell you."

Lucas did as told and sat down on the nearby couch. He looked at them both and took a deep breath, "Before you guys say anything, know that I love it here. I love being with Riley and I don't want to be anywhere but here. My friends are here now and so is my life."

His aunt and uncle exchanged looks before they turned to him again. "Your uncle and I have reached a settlement, you will be returning to Texas at the beginning of February and that is final. If things in this town calm down, you will be allowed to return for college."

He scoffed, picked up his things, walked to his room and slammed his door shut. He knew that arguing with them would only worsen things and he was left to accept the fact that he will not be able to change their minds.

That he would be leaving New York to go back to Texas.

 **–**

Anthony and Matías sat opposite from each other. They didn't speak, they didn't look at each other, they just roasted their marshmallows and silently ate their smores. A few minutes of this silence grew and Anthony could not take it anymore. He was so embarrassed and sweating that he felt like someone placed a spotlight on him that was over a hundred degrees.

He finally managed to look at Matías. His brown eyes were shining because of the campfire they made, he seemed okay and unbothered by it which made him hope he didn't see it, but Anthony was sure he did. "Are we just going to ignore it?" he asked.

Matías looked at him, "Ignore what?"

Anthony grimaced because he was embarrassed to say the word, but he knew he had to, "The condom?" he informed timidly, "I know you saw it, Matías. You don't have to pretend like you didn't."

He set his things down and turned to him, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Well, no, but...we have to. I mean, don't you want to know why I brought it?"

"Anthony, I already do," he answered him. "It's been obvious this whole time. The trip, the tent, and now the condom? I know that your feelings for me are still there."

"I just wanted this to be the perfect weekend for you - "

"The only way this will suck for me is if we continue to be awkward around each other, okay?"

He nodded and they returned to their marshmallows. Anthony was glad that Matías' reaction was calm and collected rather than nervous and shy about it. After a while, the silence lengthened and Anthony got to thinking. "Hey, Matías?"

"Yeah?" he turned to him. The warm night made him look like a model from a magazine.

"Do you still...I don't know...have feelings for me?"

He let out a gentle, sincere smile. "Always."

It warmed his heart to hear that he did. "You know the reason I brought the condom was so that for once we could feel something other than loss. To feel each other and to distract us. But now that I say it I realize how stupid I was...it's stupid."

"You're not stupid, Anthony. You're caring. You think about other people... all the time." They fell into another silence and Matías began to think about all the times Anthony had shown him that he cares for him. There were too many times. He knew that they had gone through their ups and certainly through their downs, but because of it, Matías loved him even more. "You know I thought I'd be uncomfortable with the fact that you wanted us to have sex. It was just something I never thought about but now since you mentioned it, I think I'm ready to go there with you."

"Really?" he asked, his heart skipping a beat.

"You're the first people who knew me for me. You know me more than anyone in this world and you have literally done what I can't return. And that was love someone else when you couldn't love yourself."

He stood up and walked around the campfire in order to sit next to him. "We've struggled, we have. But that's why this is so important to us; because our relationship has been there when we needed it."

They looked at each other before Matías unapologetically kissed Anthony. The kiss lasted for seconds when Matías pulled apart. He watched as Anthony passed his tongue experimentally over his front teeth. "C'mon," he jerked his head towards the tent, "Let's go."

Matías nodded and kissed his lips before he started walking towards it. As Anthony watched him walk, he touched the side of his pocket in order to make sure the condom was still there.

Because he would be using it.

 **–  
**

After Lucas left, Riley stayed on her bed watching Friends. She was still in denial about the news he dropped on her and she hated that he might have to leave back to Texas. As she waited for Lucas text message, she was reading the many unread messages that Geb had sent her earlier that day. They all expressed why he wanted a second chance and that he would treat her better this time around. He fucked up many times but a small part of her always believed there was good in him and that he could possibly change for the better.

As she reached the last and final message he sent her, she was captivated by the fact that he wrote I love you to her. It had been a while since they dated and he still felt the same way for her.

The second her phone rang because of an incoming call, she brought it closer to her and saw that Lucas was calling her. "Are you staying?" she abruptly called. "Please, tell me you are." She waited for an answer to tell her that he wouldn't be leaving her and that he would stay with her for the rest of their high school lives.

"Riley, I -" he struggled to tell her. "They said that I would - " he bit his tongue and took the deepest breath he had ever taken. "They said I'm staying. I get to stay in New York."

* * *

 **Writers Note: ooooooohhhhh. Did you guys catch that? Why did Lucas lie about staying in New York when his aunt and uncle said he would be returning to Texas? And what do you guys think about Anthony and Matías? I personally created them to be an evolving relationship. And what did Missy have to tell Josh that was lifechanging? And why was she mad when she found out he would be going to college in California?"**

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	36. Chapter 36

**Writers Note: Wow. Only one more chapter to go before this story is completely over. Thank you so much for reading and I hope that you have an amazing day. This chapter was one of the fastest to complete because most scenes were already written from previous weeks, which takes off a lot of weight from my shoulders.** **Thank you for reading** **.**

 **Junior Year**

 _ **FRIDAY**_

Acacia and Kaden rested their backs on a yellow blanket that she brought with her. They were looking up at the bright blue sky and talking to each other. The few white clouds passed over them and the sun hit the areas around them. "There's a school dance coming up," Kaden informed her. She looked beautiful and he made sure to tell her many times.

"I know. There are posters everywhere."

He turned to his side so that he could look at her, "So I saw," he smiled. "What time should I pick you up?"

"How about a quarter past never?" she suggested and watched as his smile faded, "I'm not going, Kaden."

"Why not? You'll be with me so we'll be dancing all the time." Thinking about the fun they would have together made his stomach run with butterflies.

"That's exactly why. I can't dance and you know it."

"You never bothered to learn," he said. He noticed that she still hadn't changed her mind so he continued to speak about it, "Everyone will be there."

"Everyone can suck a bag of buttholes."

"C'mon. Please? For me?" he pouted.

"You should go. Go and have fun. Hang out with your friends, I haven't been seeing you hang out with Stefan."

"Stefan and I have been friends since second grade. We can go weeks without speaking to each other and still be super tight."

"Even if I wanted to go I would look ridiculous," she told him.

"What do you mean? You'd be the most beautiful girl there."

"Yeah," she scoffed. "The most beautiful with a cast."

"What can I do to make you go?" he asked and scooted himself closer to her. "I'll buy your lunch for a whole week. I got you, girl," he smiled.

She thought it was cute for him to really want her to go. He was so kind to her and at times she felt like she didn't deserve him. The truth was, Acacia knew she was going the minute she saw Kaden buy two tickets for the dance. She knew that one was for her.

She stared into his eyes and then started to laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing," she answered. "But, fine. You win. I'll go."

"You only agreed because I'm buying you lunch," he countered. "Is that it?"

"No," she shook her head. "I'm going because you already bought my ticket."

"How did you know? Did you see me?"

"I did," she answered. "Thank you for that."

He leaned on his back again and stared at the white clouds. It was picturesque. Everything about it. "I can kiss you, right now," he laughed. "I really can."

She looked at his profile and smiled. She extended her hand and began to caress his cheek, "Then what's stopping you?"

Kaden sat upright and then looked down at her. Her beautiful features, the smile, the brown eyes, the promises and the future he saw in her, it all came back to him. He leaned in to kiss her and when he did, he took his time. They worked best when they weren't rushed and he loved the fact that this was their time.

To begin again.

And to blossom into something better.

Bigger.

"I love you," he confessed.

"And I love you," she kissed him. "I always will."

 **–**

Anthony parked his car in front of Matías' home. He turned to look at him and then laughed. They had done the most normal thing a horny teenager could do and they weren't ashamed of it. After they had sex the first time, they went for another round. They spent all night, awake, in between each other. Laughing, talking, smiling, exchanging kisses and taking things into consideration.

"You were..." he was at loss for words, "Amazing. You know that, right?" Anthony complimented. "I didn't know you could do any of that."

He placed his hand over his forehead, "Don't look at me," Matías joked. "You make me feel some type of way."

"I'm glad."

Matías kissed his lips before getting out of the car with his bag over his shoulder. He waved goodbye and then entered his home. "Mi'jo," his mother said surprised to see him back. "How was the trip? Did you have fun?"

"I did. Thank's mom. But there's something I need to tell you and dad."

"What is it?" his father asked. He was reading a book and his glasses were on.

"I think I'm ready to go back to school," came the sentence he had been wanting to tell them since he and Anthony became more. "Yeah. I think that's it."

 **–**

Riley and Lucas spoke in the hallway. She was extremely happy now that he would be staying in New York and not going back to Texas. Ever since he told her, it was all she could think about.

The thought of losing him made her realize that they had been less romantic in their relationship and she wanted to change everything about that, all that crossed her mind were the amazing things they would do in the future.

As they spoke, she felt her phone go off and she checked it. It was a message by Geb.

The text read:

Party Tonight at 9. Hmu for the addy.

She furrowed her brows because she couldn't believe him. He sent this to her knowing that it would upset and annoy her. She slid her phone back into her pocket and then turned to Lucas who seemed to have received a message as well. "A party? Is he serious?"

"You got it too?" she asked.

"Well, someone we don't like will be getting turnt tonight," Maya said as she showed them the message Geb sent her. "That's not fair."

"So you got it too?" Riley spoke. "Unbelievable."

"Looks like everyone got it," she said and watched as everyone in the hallway stared at their phones. "Some nerve. I mean after every terrible thing that has happened in this shitty town, he throws a party?"

Riley looked at her friend, "That is exactly why everybody will be going."

 **–**

Nine o'clock came and every teenager from a five-mile radius knew that a party was taking place. The music was loud, the doors were open, beer bottles and SOLO cups were discarded on the grass and drunken people seemed to be scattered everywhere.

Missy watched as some of the people she knew entered Geb's house and immediately began to drink. She watched as they stood there, free of worry without a care for the world.

She walked inside and saw that it was crowded. There was pizza on the countertops, plates on couches and everywhere in the house. People played beer pong on the dining table and laughed.

She once used to be like this. She used to lie to her parents and tell them that she was spending the night at Nina's but instead of sleeping they would go to parties or to hang out with guys from their school.

"Missy?" Josh asked.

"You're here?" she asked and looked at him. He was drinking and talking to Farkle and Isadora who were all over each other.

"Yeah. I'm graduating soon so I figured I might as well enjoy this life. Plus," he showed her his camera, "Yearbook photos."

"Of a party?" she questioned.

"No," he laughed, "I don't think the school would let me publish them but just of people hanging out. Would you like to get your picture taken?"

"Sure," she said and then smiled for the camera. Once the picture was taken she looked at what she was wearing, "Great. You took a picture of a girl with a hoodie and black tights."

He laughed as he looked at it, "That's why it's perfect."

She nodded and then looked around the house, "Do you by any chance happen to know where Geb is?"

"Umm," he was surprised to hear that she was looking for him. "He might be outside in the backyard ..."

"Okay. Well, I'll be right back." She walked out into the backyard and saw that he was being loud and had taken to drinking more than was good for him. It was obvious in the way he carried himself.

"Missy," he smiled and placed his arm around her waist, "You made it."

She looked at the people he was talking to. They were all smoking weed and she didn't want Geb to get any more wasted. "Can we talk?"

"Later."

"No, I mean now. It's important."

He ignored her and continued to talk to his friends. She watched as he drank and drank and smoked. She wanted to talk to him and she wanted to talk to him now. When she saw that he was going to take a shot of tequila, she grabbed the glass from his hand and dumped it in the bush.

"What the hell?"

"We need to talk," she grabbed his hand and his eyes traced her movements.

"Oh," he said as if he had not been catching onto something in the beginning. "I see. You came back for more."

"We'll be back," she said ignoring his comment and led him towards the inside of his house. Of course, she ignored all of his ignorant friends' chants as well.

As soon as they made it to his room, he pressed himself against her and started to kiss her neck. "Stop. There's something I need to tell you."

"That can wait," he started to place his hands on her ass. "Just let me concentrate."

"Stop," she cautioned.

He took a step back and raised his arms in surrender. "What is it that you wanted to tell me?"

"I'm pregnant."

"What?" he questioned. "I'm sorry, d-did you say - ?"

"I did."

"It's not mine," he argued. There was no way he could be a dad, not now.

"Yes, it is. You're the only one I've had sex with." It was true. She never had sex with Josh, it was only with Geb.

"Holy shit," he ran both his hands through his hair and sighed, "My dad is going to kill me."

"It's not either of our faults," she tried to make him feel better, "I haven't told my parents because I wanted you to be the first to know. We'll just have to raise the child."

"No," he said. "No. Our parents will think of something. They'll pay for the abortion, they'll...they'll handle this don't worry about it."

Missy looks at him as if she had seen a ghost, a dumb one. "I am not terminating this child. I'm not ready f-for that."

He looked at her, "Missy, we're too young. H-how will you finish high school? My dad - he'll - he'll literally kill me."

"We're gonna have to tell them," she advises, "We'll get through this."

He took a seat next to her and sighed. The only thing he could focus on was the music playing just outside his room and the wall in front of him. He tried many times to say something, to see the good in his actions but he couldn't. He only felt disappointment and his own anger that had been growing inside him.

He really hoped they would get through it.

 **–**

 _ **MONDAY**_

"Did you hear?" Riley said as she jogged to her best friend in the hall. Maya was hyperventilating and staring at her phone. She didn't hear Riley the first time but the second time she did, she looked up and hugged her.

"I can't believe it," she was in disbelief. The only thing she could hear was lockers being slammed shut. The people all around her were going about their day with nothing to worry about while her heart beat with fear. "I've been calling Missy and she hasn't been answering. The police are looking for her. I'm so scared, Riley."

She hugged her friend again. "They said he escaped two hours ago, he can be in town for all we know."

"I know. Which is why I'm freaking out. What if he gets to us? He'll kill us, Riley. He'll kill us."

Lucas was glad to see both Maya and Riley together. When he heard the news, he was sitting in his biology class and the people next to him were whispering to each other about it. His eyes widened when he heard the words: "Hyde escaped."

"The police are outside," he informed. "They're guarding the school. We aren't allowed to leave campus until school is over."

"Matías' brother says that the last place anyone saw him was at a 7-Eleven," Anthony informed. "They're only two in town and they're all four minutes away from the school."

Maya leaned against Riley for support. She had never experienced fear at this level. The only thing that ran through her mind was the face Hyde made the day he got arrested. She was standing in the same place. "They haven't found him," she said through tears in her eyes.

The students walking by were staring in their direction, they could see Maya's fear and felt sorry for her, but they didn't care enough to do something about it.

Josh joined their group and stared at Maya. The second she saw him, she hugged him and he kissed her forehead. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know what to do."

Anthony's phone dinged and he looked at the message. "He says we should all spend the night at his house. Sleeping in our own is too dangerous. They'll be police officers outside to stop Hyde if he finds us."

They nodded.

"But Missy...she hasn't been found since Friday."

"What?" Josh asked and took a step back. "Since Friday? What do you mean?"

They all looked at each other, confused. "Josh, what do you mean you don't know?" Lucas asked.

"Know what?" it was clear he was getting agitated by the lack of answers to his questions. "Where's Missy?"

Silence.

"I swear to God, where is she?" his voice was loud and it startled some of them.

"We don't know," Maya finally answered. The halls suddenly grew quiet and it was just Maya and him speaking. "Josh, she's missing."

He didn't know what to do. He was angry but now he was nowhere close. He stared at her for a few seconds before walking away. He needed to get away from them. The last time he saw her she was with Geb. He told her she left.

So what happened after that?

 **–**

"Thank you, Matías, for letting us stay," the blonde said to her friend as she set her bag on the ground and turn to look at him. This was the first time they talked ever since his accident occured.

"It's no problem," he said and then turned to look at the door. Josh was approaching his home with a bag of his own in his hand.

"Riley and Lucas are getting their stuff," he said to him before entering. When his eyes made contact with Maya's, something in him caused him to look away. He supposed it was his own guilt for the way he reacted when heard about Missy's dissappearance. It hurt her feelings and he knew it. "What's up, Anthony?"

"Nothing. Just watching 'Sierra Burgess is a Loser' on Netflix."

"Is she a loser?" he asked and took a seat right next to him which was on the carpet.

"Well yeah, but that's not the point of it."

"Then what is?"

Maya took a seat next to Anthony as well, leaving him sanwiched in between them. "She catfishes a boy," she poorly summarized and placed a hanful of popcorn in her mouth.

"Basically, but that's not the point either."

Matías returned his attention back towards the front of the door and saw that Riley and Lucas were on the verge of walking in. "Hey." They both looked fine to him but he noticed that there was some tension to him. This came from the way Riley was staring at everything before her.

"Hi," they both said in unison.

"Is that everybody?" the remaining police officer asked.

"Yes," he confirmed.

He nodded and took a step back. "Your brother will be inside, we'll be out here."

"Thank you, officer. Take care."

"I can't believe they still haven't found him," Lucas said as soon as the front door closed. "How hard can it be?"

"I don't know, but they're looking for one man in a town of twenty thousand people. It makes sense," Matías walked towards his living room and took a seat on the couch. "Anthony and I were watching a movie before you guys got here. We're an hour in but we can start it again - "

"Or we can just explain it to them," Anthony interrupted. "The first hour is pretty slow."

"I vote we watch the movie from the beginning," Lucas chimed in.

"Lucas we already saw the first half of this movie," Riley said. There was a tone in her voice that everyone took to note. She was mad and something was getting her upset. They all just chose to ignore it, even Lucas who looked like he wasn't understanding where she was coming from.

"I don't remember any of it - "

"Cause you were asleep. Or did you forget that too?"

He furrowed his brows and turned to look at her. Her eyes didn't meet his and she had the usual vein sticking out on her neck the way she did when she got angry. He chose to ignore it, hoping everyone would too.

A silence reigned over them for a few seconds and Josh was the first to break it. "Anthony you should just explain it."

"Yeah, your attention span isn't very big," Maya spoke.

Again, there was a silence.

It didn't take long for Matías and Anthony to realize what their night could possibly turn into. After a brief debate, they opted to rewatch the movie from the beginning. Lucas and Josh paid attention to it while Maya and Riley casually rolled their eyes whenever they asked questions.

Matías could see that some of the things Riley was doing were hurting Lucas' feelings. He began to notice this when he reached for her hand and she moved it. It was also obvious when he said that his relationship with Riley was better than the entire movie and she laughed at him for it.

All these signs were hints to what that night would bring. Their threat was no longer Hyde, but their friendship itself.

After the movie ended, the six of them went on their phones and didn't talk for a bit. Lucas, by this point, had kept his distance from Riley because he understood she was mad. He just didn't know why.

Maya stayed close to her phone because she had asked to be kept updated on any whereabouts on Missy. The police still hadn't found anything on her or Hyde which scared her more than she let her friend see.

This silence lengthened until Lucas got a call. The first thing he did when this happened, was look up at Riley. When their eyes met, he quickly looked away, stood up, left the room, and answered the call.

Matías and Anthony raised a brow. They didn't know why he left but once they saw Riley pace towards him, they knew something bad was about to happen. Her yelling could be heard from the other room even though she tried to hide it, Lucas was trying to calm her down but she did not listen.

"What's going on between them?" Josh asked Maya.

She dropped her phone and stared at him blankly. "Are you serious?"

Josh looked alarmed. "I-"

"What does it look like?" she queried. She continued to yell at Josh while he remained confused. He was so shocked to see her yelling at him that all he could do was stare.

Matías and Anthony were both confused themselves but they kept away from the entire situation.

"Becuase you keep lying," Riley shouted as she followed Lucas into the same room they were in before. Now it was two different arguments going on in the same room, both unaware of what could've caused it.

"Lying about what?" Lucas questioned. He tried so hard to keep her under control but he couldn't. Now he was the one yelling back at her. "It was just a phone call. It's not like I'm cheating or anything."

"So that's exactly what you're doing?" Riley crossed her arms. "Well, who the hell is she?"

"What are you talking about?" he raised his arms to show how annoyed he was. "There is no girl. The last girl you were suspicious about ended up being my cousin."

"So who is it? Your aunt and uncle? Did they change their mind about New York? Is that why you keep lying to me?" He didn't know what to say. There was a chance she might now that he was lying to her this entire time. Could that be why she was so upset?"

"All I did was ask," Josh responded. He looked at Maya who was now getting ready to throw pillows at him. She missed the first time but the next two hit him on the back of his head. "What's your deal?"

"My deal is that you can be so stupid sometimes. How can you not realize that your actions hurt people?"

"What did I do?" he asked while he dodged some of the pillows she was throwing.

Riley picked up the few pillows that were on the floor and began to hit Lucas with them. "Answer me. What are you keeping from me?"

"Nothing," he said back to her. He tried to control her but she was too far from his reach. "All I did was answer a phone call?"

"Then why did you look so suspicious?"

"Because you've been giving me the death stare all day," he finally grabbed her by the arms and stopped her from throwing anymore pillows. "Can you chill?" he questioned.

"Can you chill?" she mugged him. "Let me go."

"Did I say something?" Josh said and Maya jumped on him. He was laid out flat on the ground and Maya repeatedly hit his back with the throw pillow. "Ow, Maya, ow, ow, OW!"

Matías turned to look back at Anthony. He couldn't believe how childish they were acting. When his eyes landed on him, he noticed that Anthony was recording them. He decided that enough was enough and he reached for the pillow by his side, with one swing, the pillow hit Anthony and he dropped his phone. "You're on."

This lasted for a few seconds longer. It would've continued had not Adriel intervened.

"Seriously?" he turned to look at his brother who was also engaging in the activity. "You guys are sixteen, almost seventeen and you're playing pillow fight? Cut it out, or you guys are sleeping in separate rooms."

He left the living room and walked back to the office. Everyone looked at each other and then laughed.

"Can you chill?" Riley mimicked Lucas' voice but this time in a comedic tone. They both laughed and then looked at the mess in the room. "What really did it this time?"

"Riley, I'm sorry if I did anything to offend you. I should've asked if something was wrong the first time I noticed."

She hugged him, "I'm the one that should be sorry. I guess I just thought you were keeping something from me."

He wanted to tell the real truth but this wasn't the time. Not in front of everybody. Especially when they had to stay in the same place over night.

"Maya, I don't know what I did but I am sorry. I really am."

She dropped the pillow and ran a hand through her hair. "I don't even know why I am mad. It's stupid. You're allowed to be hurt over Missy's disappearance. I mean I am. I guess I was just jealous."

"She's my friend, Maya. You're more, remember?" He extended his arms for her to hug and she did. "But you're cute when you throw pillows."

"So..." Anthony said as he stared at Matías. "I'm waiting."

He furrowed his brows, but then smiled. "Well, keep waiting because I am not apologizing."

"You hit me with a pillow."

"You were recording."

"Okay, fine. I guess it's fair."

The night continued and eventually, morning came. The police reported that there were no disturbances and left a few minutes earlier. After getting dressed for school, the six of them met in the kitchen where Matías' mom was making breakfast. They didn't hear about Hyde until Adriel came down to talk to them.

"Hyde has been found," seeing their fear lighten from their shoulders made him feel proud. "He was found inside of Geb Carter's home. Hyde threatened him and held him hostage. We were only able to find him because Geb found a way to call the police. I'm only telling you this because I am aware you guys know him. Just thought it would be best if I tell you"

Riley and Lucas looked back at each other. She set her food down and muted her phone, she knew a storm of messages and calls were about to flood her phone. "Well, at least he's not dead."

Lucas was surprised by her response and he was sure everyone else was too. He decided to ask her about it later.

He never did.

 **–**

 **JANUARY 31, 2018 |** _A day before the lockdown_

 _ **WEDNESDAY**_

"Hey," Anthony spoke when Matías answered the phone. "Just wanted to talk to you before tomorrow. I know it'll be your first day back and I can tell you're nervous."

"I am," Matías let out a deep breath. "It's been a few days since I've seen you guys. I've only spoke to Riley after...you know...Hyde. The only good thing about going back is you guys."

"Are you happy to go back?"

"A little. I mean I missed going to sleep and waking up whenever I want. But, besides that, I just feel normal. The only bad thing, however that I am not looking forward to is summer school."

"Looks like I'll see you there," Anthony chuckled.

"What do you mean?" Matías asked. He was quiet after this. "Anthony?"

He decided to speak now, "I don't want to disappoint you."

It wasn't hard to figure out that Anthony's grades had slipped and fallen through. "You were doing so well..."

"I know. I know." he waited for him to say something because he felt a little embarrassed. He was grateful that they were talking through the phone and not in person.

"Okay, it doesn't matter. We'll have all the time in the world this summer to help you catch up. But know that Maya agreed to give me a ride to school tomorrow so you don't need to worry about picking me up."

"Okay. But make sure she stops and gets you breakfast. You get cranky when you're hungry."

"I'll remind her," he joked.

Anthony smiled, "I should let you go now. You have a big day tomorrow and you need your sleep."

"Goodbye, Anthony."

"Goodbye."

Matías ended the call and set his phone down on his bedstand. He snuggled himself in the blankets and could not believe that he was finally doing it. He was finally about to get over his fear and return to school, just like a regular teen. He closed his eyes before drifting off into a peaceful sleep.

Not knowing what the next day would bring.

* * *

 **Writers Note: This chapter tied everything together. The next chapter will contain scenes from the lockdown and everything will be explained. You will know who brought the gun and how everything will play out.**

 **Follow, Favorite and Review**


	37. Chapter 37

**Writers Note: This journey began on April 15, 2017, when the idea of a drama series lit up in my head. That was the day I started to plan everything and to everyone's surprise, it led us here. My inspiration was drawn from spectacular shows such as 13 Reason's Why and How To Get Away With Murder because they had much of what I wanted this show to be about. Everything was planned in my head and had been in my head for a least a handful of weeks before it was ever written down. This was the first time I really worked on a story so hard and I hope you guys can see it through my writing. To be honest,** **this story was not supposed to get this far. I honestly don't know how it did. Like this story almost made the one year mark, that is so unbelievable to me. So thank you so very much and I can't wait for you to finish this chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: There will be some foul language, violence, and minor descriptions of sex throughout the chapter.**

 **...**

 **Junior Year**

 _ **LOCKDOWN |** Feb 1, 2018_

 **1:46 pm**

Josh was on his way to class when the announcement started. He had never heard that sound before which made him realize how serious this was. Plenty of people had gathered in front of his teachers class because he was quietly letting them in. Upon entering, the teacher advised them all to hide under the desks.

He knew this was serious but he was unable to understand how scared he should be. It wasn't until a few minutes after that a gunshot was fired. That's when everybody began to comprehend the seriousness of it.

Whispers and screams were heard all throughout the room. Some began to text their parents and seek safety in their friends, praying they would make it out alive.

Josh couldn't recognize the last time he was scared. He couldn't remember the last time a school lockdown was a serious thing. He laid on the carpet and stared at the ceiling. His finger was tapping against the chair he was under and he was slowly counting the long and slow minutes.

 _58, 59, 60, 1, 2, 3..._

"Stop," Farkle whispered to him because he was laying down next to him. "It's getting annoying."

"We've been in here for a long time."

"Four minutes," he answered. "The lockdown started four minutes ago."

"Doesn't matter. _1, 2, 3, 4, 5..._ "

Farkle returned his attention towards the ceiling wall and closed his eyes. He should've expected something like this to happen. Something terrible always happened in this town. "I'm at a point in life where I am convinced this town is cursed."

"Aren't we all?" Josh agreed.

"I'm sorry about Missy. Ever since she's gone missing it's clear that you are sad and you want to find her. And I've been pressuring you into giving me that photo you took of her because Isadora was it in when I should've asked you if you are okay."

"It's cool."

"And I know the police are on it but it's still not enough."

"It's not," Josh agreed. "It really isn't. The last time I saw her she looked sad. It was obvious she was trying to hide it but I didn't ask her about it. I feel like she wanted to tell me something - I just wish I would've asked."

A silence lengthened and Farkle got to thinking, he started to remember that Missy and Josh were once a happy couple. Even though that was ages ago, feelings like that don't truly go away. They become platonic and the feeling will always be there. "I'm so sorry about Missy. She disappeared into thin air and she can't be found. Just don't give up. Keep the photo, tell everyone. Isadora will just have to understand."

"Thank you, Farkle. You've always been a good friend to me, to all of us."

"It's who I am."

Josh smiled at him and then pulled out the photo of Missy from his pocket. The night he took this photo was the day she went missing. They were talking at Geb's party and she asked to see him. The last time he saw her, she was leading Geb up the stairs because she had something to tell him.

When Geb came down, Josh asked him where Missy went and he told her that she had left a few minutes ago.

He never heard of her after.

 **–**

 **1:48 pm**

Matías examined his sweating teacher who typed away nervously on his computer from three desks behind. He watched as he occasionally wiped his forehead and looked at the students around him. It was clear he did not know what he was doing, he kept asking for help through the computer and waited for teachers responses.

Matías pulled out his phone and started to text his brother who he was sure would know what to do.

 **Adriel (1):**

 **We got the notice. Officer Parker initiated the lockdown. There should be some units responding soon.**

He read the message and furrowed his brows before formulating his own response:

 _Parker? As in Melissa Parker? Your girlfriend?_

 **Adriel (1):**

 **Yeah. Apparently, the person with the gun killed their dad before heading to the school. It's why they think he's dangerous.**

Matías began to type but stopped when he noticed that Seth has taken a seat beside him. He looked at him for a few seconds before looking away.

"Do you have a minute?" Seth asked. He was overwhelmed with guilt and he had been ever since he intentionally tried to make his life bad.

"A minute for what?" he felt like he knew what Seth was trying to do but a part of him though otherwise. They last time they talked was a really longed time ago, maybe when he and Maya were still dating.

Seth looked at him. He had been feeling different these past weeks and felt like he could do more. Like he could turn over a new leaf and become a different, better version of himself. "I wanted to say I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Matías questioned. "What for?"

"For being an asshole to you and Anthony," he confessed. "I'm not sure you know but I tried to ruin your guys' friendship. I was the one who made show you the video of Anthony hitting Ruben." he stayed silent for a few seconds, this was mostly due to the fact that Seth was running out of things to say, "When I heard you got in a car accident that same night I felt like shit. I really am sorry."

Hearing this felt strange.

He had been through so much and been put through so much by so many people that hearing someone finally apologize for it made him realize just how much he needed to hear that word. "It's okay." As Seth began to crawl away, Matías stopped him. "Thank you." He returned his attention to his phone and saw that Riley texted him at 1:43 pm. He responded to her message by telling her that he was safe.

 **–**

 **1:49 pm**

Isadora looked at the classroom window and saw as a police officer spoke to a group of concerned parents. She hoped that this lockdown wasn't as serious as it seemed and that they were safe.

"We'll be okay," Anthony informed her the second he noticed that she was scared. He had been watching her from where he sat and it was obvious that she was trying to contain herself.

"I'm sorry, I'm just really nervous." Her phone chimed and she immediately read the message and started to send a reply. "It's just Farkle. He's checking up on me."

"You love him," Anthony assumed. He could see it in her eyes. "Every time you get a text from him your eyes light up."

Her cheeks turned a bright shade of pink, "Believe it or not I'm supposed to be mad at him," this, for some strange reason, made her smile. "But I suppose that doesn't matter anymore given the circumstance we're in."

As the talked, she noticed that Anthony checked his phone and then quickly set it down, she realized he hadn't gotten a text message. "Wherever she is, I am sure she's okay. Is it your girlfriend?"

"Errrr," he scratched the back of his head and debated whether he should correct her or not. But something about her character made him realize that he could tell her anything. "Boyfriend, actually."

Isadora was surprised. "Really? I'm sorry. I should've - "

"No, it's okay. So...um..." He let out a faint smile and played with his phone. "Just worried about him."

"Who's your boyfriend and why isn't he letting you know he's okay?"

"Pfft," this showed how much he knew; which wasn't much. "I don't know. I just can't help but think that something has happened to him."

She placed his hand over his shoulder for reassurance, "I bet he's okay. Just try again."

He picked up his phone and formed another text. While doing so, he spoke to Isadora. "You know you're the first person I've come out to."

She was surprised, "Really?"

"Yeah. I think it's time I want people to know."

As they continued to speak, his phone chimed and Matías texted him back. This let him know that he was okay and away from danger.

 **–**

 **1:56 pm**

"Josh and Isadora are both okay. And so is Anthony, Matías and umm, Farkle. I just haven't gotten word from Maya...I really hope she's safe." Riley stared at Lucas as she spoke. He was sitting opposite from her in the janitors closet and tossing a rolled up towel up and down. Riley thought that he would spend this time comforting her but he had distanced himself and acted like he didn't care anymore.

"She'll be fine, Riley. It's Maya."

As they waited again, Riley set her phone down knowing that most of her friends were safe and in a classroom. She looked around the room and saw a vent, that was the only way out but, unfortunately, they were too big enough to fit through it. If they were to leave this closet it would be through the front door.

She continued to stare at the room in search of something that could maybe help them but then she stopped when she saw Lucas.

"Lucas?" she spoke and waited for his eyes to meet hers, "You're not okay and I know it. I know that there's something you've been hiding. There's something you know that I don't and I can't help you if you don't tell me."

His eyes didn't meet hers.

"Can you please tell me?" she pressured him. "Don't you think I have the right to know if something is bugging you or not?"

He didn't answer.

"If I was in your shoes and you were in mine, wouldn't you want to know?"

"No, because I'd understand that when I face a problem it's best to solve it on my own."

"Oh, but when it's my problem you would do anything to help me?" Riley countered. "That's not right."

"Riley, please. Drop it," he deadpanned.

"No. I- I won't. Not until you tell me."

"Why do you have to be so difficult?" he asked. "It's not even that big of a deal."

"Bullshit. If it wasn't a big deal you would tell me. So tell me. I deserve to know."

He ignored her. He started to do the same thing she was initially doing and that was looking around the room, but this time he was avoiding her gaze. He wished they could go back to the times where they were free of worry and were just dating without having to worry about something terrible happening. He truly missed it.

"Okay, fine," Riley gave up. "If you don't want to tell me that's completely up to you. But enjoy Winter Formal by yourself."

"C'mon," he complained.

"Then tell me," she pressured. "Please."

Lucas rubbed his nose and then clenched his jaw. "I've been lying to you."

"About?" she froze. She really hoped that she wouldn't end up knowing something that would surely hurt her feelings or make her think that he cheated on her.

"I'm going back to Texas to finish high school. I leave by the end of the week."

She thought he was joking at first. She was prepared to laugh but by the look on his face, she was sure it was the truth. "I thought they were okay with you staying. You told me - "

"I wanted you to feel good. I didn't want you to worry."

"Well, you failed. And I'm sure that after today they will want you gone by tomorrow."

"This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you. You'd get upset with me and then you would be sad."

"At least I know the truth," she argued. They remained quiet and they didn't look at each other. She was so mad at him for lying to her and that he was leaving so soon, but she couldn't stay mad. She had to look around this because they were in a bigger situation at the moment. She extended her hand and he crawled to her, embracing her. Riley's back leaning against his chest. "Just hold me," she told him and he kissed her temple, "We'll work through this. I know we will."

 **–**

 _ **1:49 pm**_

 _Melissa Parker was a police officer._ _She had been for the last five years._

 _This lockdown was the biggest thing that has happened in her career as of late. She thought that the threat would end when she found the mans body a few minutes ago in the apartment, but it didn't. Instead, they learned that the killer was in the school, placing hundreds of lives in danger. She waited outside the school like the other police officers and waited for the SWAT team to arrive._

 _As she spoke to officer Blu, she noticed that parents were starting to park their cars in the school parking lot and approach the school._

 _"Officer," one mother called out to her. "I got one of those robocalls over the phone telling me the school was on lockdown. Is that true?"_

 _"Yes, ma'am. It is. We advise that you meet in the designated meeting area so that you aren't to close to the school. We have people coming in that will handle this situation we just need you to be patient."_

 _"Please, I just want my daughter. She's in there, please."_

 _"I know. I know what it's like but you need to understand that you can't be near the school. I have a kid in there that is like my son and I am scared to. But we need to be patient. Please. This will be handled."_

 _The mother began to take a step back and as she did, Melissa began to notice that news reporters were walking in. They were in vans and a helicopter was flying over the school._

 _"All students will come out of this school, I can promise you that."_

 **–**

 **1:55 pm**

Matías couldn't take seeing his teacher not know what he was doing. Despite the laughter and annoyance it was causing him. He decided that enough was enough and he began to approach them. "Do you need help?"

"Uhh," he turned to him, sweat on his forehead and on his armpits. "Please?"

Matías took the computer from his teacher and placed it on his lap. The first thing he did was check the attendance list. If the shooter was a student enrolled in this school their name could be narrowed down in the absent list because they wouldn't be in class. He scrolled down to the list which was towards the bottom of the site, he was surprised to see the few names. Some of which he knew.

Students missing:

Aaron Beckerman, Andrea Leslie, Geb Carter, Lucas Friar, Maya Hart, Missy Bradford, Riley Matthews, Tori Capaldi and seven others.

Among the fifteen missing, only six of them were unexcused, and Riley, Lucas, and Maya were some of them.

"Seth," he called to him. He was on his phone sitting across the classroom but as soon as he heard his name, he turned to him. "Both Geb and Maya aren't in class. Can you try texting them?"

Seth nodded.

Matías returned his attention to the computer and began to text Riley.

 ** _Where are you?_**

She was quick to respond.

 **Riley Matthews (1):**

 **We didn't make it to a classroom on time so we're stuck in a janitors closet.**

Seth stared at the blue text messages he had sent Maya. None were answered and he was growing worried. He began to form another lengthy text but was stopped when he saw that Geb had texted him. The notification read:

 **Help Me!**

 **Seth:**

 _ **Are you okay? Are you hurt?**_

 **Geb:**

 _ **Yes. Bad.**_

 **Seth:**

 _ **I'll get help. Where are you?**_

 **Geb:**

 _ **No. You need to come alone. Please! I'm still bleeding and I don't want him to get upset.**_

 **Seth:**

 _ **Okay. But tell me where you are.**_

As soon as he sent the message, he turned to look at Matías who was typing on the teacher's computer and then texting on his phone. He couldn't risk telling him. His immediate response would be to let the teachers know.

Seth's gaze trailed the room and he stopped when he saw the door. He can see the door was opened by the way the doorknob was turned. He realized that the teacher had forgotten to lock the door from the inside as well which meant he could leave. And if he was careful, no one would see.

And that's exactly what he did.

 **–**

 **1:58 pm**

"Riley?" Lucas asked. They were still wrapped in each other's arms, thinking and for the most part talking about past memories they shared. They talked about the moment they first met - and had trouble deciding who bumped into who and who was the clumsiest in that scenario. They talked about the time they first realized they had feelings for each other, their first kiss, and favorite date. While they talked, Lucas remembered something he never had the courage to talk to Riley about. He knew that she was hiding something as well and the fact that she kept this secret hidden from him, led him to believe many things. "Why didn't you tell me that Geb was texting you? I could've handled it."

She turned to look at him, "How did you know? Did you go through my phone?"

He licked his lips, "Do you have feelings for him? Is that it?"

"What?" she looked at him as if he had said the dumbest thing - which he had. "God, no."

"Then why keep it a secret?"

"Now is not the time to talk about it," she tried to derail the subject but Lucas was too stubborn to let it change.

"It's the perfect time to talk about it if you ask me."

"Why does it concern you when he texts me so much? You know that I love you, but I guess saying it all the time doesn't mean anything to you."

"Becuase he's crazy for you. I read the messages, there's a tone of them. He's obsessed - "

"Messages," she said as if she had just realized something big. "Oh my God, the texts." Riley picked up her phone at lightning speed and pressed a few buttons before showing Lucas all the messages Geb sent her. "The last message he ever sent me was this: You'll never be happy. Just watch."

Lucas sat upright, "I should've known. It's been obvious this entire time." He showed her his phone, "Geb sent this to me yesterday. At first, I couldn't tell what it was, but if you look closely, if you pay attention to it, you see that it's a - "

"A gun," she finished. "It's him. It's Geb. He's the one with the gun!"

Fear set in and they realized that they had to tell people. "We need to tell the others."

 **–**

 **2:00 pm**

It was him. It was Geb who brought the gun.

Matías stared at the text message Riley sent him. He couldn't believe he wasn't the one to make that conclusion. Now that he knew, he felt like it was one of the most obvious things he could have easily solved. The night before as soon as he had finished talking to Anthony on the phone, Geb texted him as well. His message read:

 _Fear doesn't just come in the shape of a car_

He turned around to tell Seth but he was gone. He couldn't see him anywhere.

Matías crawled towards where Seth was normally sitting, he thought that he had moved to talk to someone else but he was nowhere in the room.

"Are you looking for Seth?" a girl he talked to once asked.

"Yeah," he answered. "Do you know where he went?"

"He left."

"What do you mean he left?" Matías asked. Seth wouldn't be that dumb to just leave and risk his life.

"He just walked out the door," she pointed and he followed her finger.

As soon as he did this, another gunshot was fired. Everyone in the class grew scared and Matías hid under the desk with the girl he was talking to. He pulled out his phone and started to text Seth:

 ** _Come back to class. You're not safe out there._**

He waited for a few seconds and looked at everyone, they were all scared but no one was injured. He took a deep breath and looked at his phone, most importantly, he looked at the words he was going to type.

 _ **I'm coming for you. Tell me where you are and I'll find you.**_

"Jasmine, right?" he asked the girl who was beside him. She nodded. "Jasmine my name is Matías Reyes. Geb Carter is the student who brought the gun, okay? Tell everybody...text everybody you know and let them know that it's him."

She nodded endlessly through the tears in her eyes. When Matías was sure that she would do just that, he took a deep breath, formed a prayer in his head, and ran out the classroom door.

 **–**

 **2:03 pm**

Geb stared at the messages on Seth's phone. He could see that Matías was going to go look for him.

He rubbed his head disappointedly and cursed.

If Matías was going to go look for him, then it meant that he possibly knew. His intelligence always rubbed Geb off in the wrong way and he hated him for it. It didn't just start randomly.

Towards the ending of their Sophomore year when they were wrapped in the Nina incident, Matías was the one who helped Anthony get out of it. He covered evidence for him but left Seth and Geb out in the cold. He didn't even give them a thought.

Ever since then he didn't like him.

His gaze traveled from Seth's phone to his ailing body, blood staining the hallway floor as he crawled away from him. Geb towered over him, grabbed his finger and used it to unlock his phone so that he could respond to Matías.

His text read:

 _ **Bio hallway Class A-8**_

 **Matías Reyes:**

 _ **Do you think you can wait? I feel like I should let the staff know.**_

 **Seth:**

 _ **Come here first. There's something you should take a look at first.**_

He slid Seth's phone into his pocket and then approached him. He flipped his body towards him and watched as the blood ran from his chest to his neck. The fear in his eyes, the struggle to speak in his voice, it made him feel in control.

"You don't have to do this," Seth tried to talk to him but his voice came out flat. Even though he had been shot, he still felt like he could reason with him and somehow survive this. "No one will have to know."

Geb listened but at the same time ignored him. He ripped out a piece of his shirt and then shoved it into his mouth, pinching his nose in the process so that he wouldn't be able to breathe.

He tried to fight and stop him. But Geb placed his knee on Seth's wound and that caused him to cry and scream. His eyes pleaded for him to stop, to understand that he was his friend and that he always had been. But it was impossible to tell him because he could speak. He was being suffocated. After a few seconds of this, Seth was gone.

He was dead.

 **–**

 **2:04 pm**

"I need to see him," Riley told Lucas. She had been thinking of many ways she could put an end to this and the only one that sounded realistic to her was by talking to him. There was no other way and it was obvious she wouldn't be able to stop him by staying away from him.

If she was capable of stopping him.

Riley clung onto the idea that Geb loved her because if he did, then she could be certain she wouldn't get hurt. This was part of the reason she was motivated to see him. And it was beginning to get to a point where she felt like this was her fault.

A while ago, he confessed to her that she was the only one that could bring him out of his melancholy state, she was clinging to the fact that maybe that was still true.

There was a reason and if she talked to him then maybe she could stop him.

"No way," Lucas told her. "You're not leaving this room."

"He already fired the gun twice," she informed, "That means two people could be dead. He could kill more and the police aren't fast enough. C'mon, Lucas, please? Think."

"If he sees us, he will kill us," he exclaimed. He couldn't believe he had to explain how dangerous this was. "We can't go out there."

"Lucas, I'm going alone," she took a deep breath. Seeing his reaction told her that he was scared and hated the idea even more. "I can do this alone."

"You're crazy if you think I'm gonna let you walk out of here."

"There's no other way," she yelled. "He will kill everybody if he has the chance. You don't know what he's capable of - "

"That's exactly why you're not leaving. I can't let you, Riley."

"Lucas," she wiped the tears from his eyes, "Do you think I'll be able to live with myself if I wait here and do nothing? Two people could be dead. What if there is a third gunshot? What do we do then? Hide while someone else gets murdered?"

"I can't let you leave," he nearly cried.

"You have to," she kissed his forehead. "I promise you, I will be back."

He nodded eventually and Riley reached for her phone. She went to his contact and called him. The waiting was excruciating, but he finally picked up.

"Riley?"

"Geb."

 **–**

 _ **1:39 pm**_

 _Officer Parker walked into the school office and looked at the lady at the front desk. "Is Geb Carter in class?" she asked the lady._

 _The lady looked at the officer and raised a brow, "Is something wrong?" she asked._

 _"We have reason to believe that a student of yours is armed with a gun. We need to know if he's in this school."_

 _The lady was hesitant before knowing this but she obliged, "Geb Carter, right? Is that correct?"_

 _"Yes."_

 _She typed his name onto the computer and it showed that he was in class before they went to lunch. This meant that he was returning. "Yes. The attendance list shows that he was in class."_

 _She sighed, "Geb Carter is in this school, for all we know he is armed. We need you to put this school into lockdown."_

 **–**

 **2:07 pm**

"So you guys haven't like...gone there?" Isadora asked Anthony. She was curious about his relationship with this mystery guy he would not tell her about. She knew she should give it a rest, but she refused to.

He allowed her to guess because it was someone from their school and she nearly squealed from excitement.

"Well, there are only like three openly gay guys in our school so it shouldn't be hard, right?" Isadora looked at him and he shrugged letting her know that he would not be helping her. "Steven?"

He shook his head no, "He's not my type." Steven was a goth, wearing dark clothes and cutting type of guy. He liked listening to heavy music and wore strong eyeliner which made him look scary. That wasn't something Anthony looked in for a guy.

"Charlie?"

"The one Riley dated back in middle school?" Anthony questioned.

"No. The other one. The gay one."

Isadora was wrong again. He knew she would never guess it was Matías which was why he allowed her to guess in the first place. And even if she did guess right, he would lie about it. "I think Charlie had a crush on me a few years ago." It was true. During their freshman year, Anthony noticed that Charlie would stare at him in the locker room. He was weirded out at the time because he didn't know he was gay too but it was obvious with Charlie. "Who knows? He still might."

She chuckled, "So if it's not him then that leaves Sammy?"

"It's not him either."

"What?" she asked. "If I didn't know any better I would've guessed Matías - "

As soon as she said that, everybody's phone in the classroom chimed. He wondered why they all went off at the same time but when he looked at his phone he saw why. The text message read:

 **Geb Carter is the active shooter. Matías Reyes told me to get the word out.**

"Everybody phones off," their teacher spoke.

"Says that he left class to find Seth Carrion," Isadora finished reading the message. "Isn't he your friend? You should be - "

"I need to go," he went to stand up but she pulled him down.

"What? Go where?"

"I need to go find him before he gets killed," Anthony informed. "I'll be back."

"You can't go you'll get hurt." She didn't think she had to tell him this but she did anyway. When she saw that he was still determined, she looked into his eyes and that was when she realized something. "Wait," he stopped moving, It's him, isn't it?" a smile grew on her lips, "Matías is the one."

Anthony didn't answer her. He just ran out of the classroom, ignoring his teachers screams telling him to stay put.

He didn't know where to go. He just ran and ran, took many turns, ran back a few steps, double checked halls but found nothing. He really hoped that he wouldn't stumble across a body and the good thing was that he didn't. As he got tired of running and started to walk, he noticed that he could hear footsteps approaching him. He backed himself against a corner and prepared to come in to contact with whomever it was. If it was Geb, he was ready to strike.

As soon as the person crossed him, he noticed that it wasn't Geb nor Matías, it was Lucas. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "Get your ass to class."

"Why are you here?" he questioned as well. "You should be in class too."

"I ran out when I saw that Matías had done the same. He's out there somewhere and I need to find him."

"Wherever he is I'm sure he's safe. I'm trying to look for Riley," he confirmed. When Geb agreed to meet with her, he was scared. He was confident that he wants to do something to her and he can't let that happen. He thought that they were going together but she told him to stay in the janitors closet because she couldn't risk his safety. He waited for a few minutes but then came to the conclusion that he shouldn't listen to her so he walked out in hopes that he could find her. "She's with him right now in the old newspaper room, the one Riley used to work in. She's trying to reason with him so that he could stop."

"Do you think that was a smart idea?"

"If I did I wouldn't be looking for her." He bit his lip and looked around the empty school, "Matías is safe. Riley is the one with Geb. Do you think you can help me?"

"What do you mean help?"

He looked at Anthony, the only guy who he has considered his true friend in New York. "Just follow me."

 **–**

 **2:09 pm**

Leaving Lucas in that room was one of the hardest things she has ever had to do. It was so hard for her because it felt like a permanent goodbye. It felt like a part of her was leaving something behind and it hurt her.

She thought the hard part was over but it wasn't. It had just begun. The walk to the old newspaper room she and Maya used to work in every day was scary. It was scary because she knew the man that waited inside it was dangerous. When she reached the door, she couldn't find the strength within her to enter. She felt like this was it. This was how she was going to die.

Dozens and dozens of memories with Lucas, Maya, and Matías came to her and she remembered that she wasn't here just for her own safety, but for the safety of hundreds of students. Sure she was scared, but thinking of others gave her the confidence to open the door.

As soon as she did, she gasped. Standing inside the room was Geb, aiming a gun at Matías' head.

"Hey, princess," he spoke.

She couldn't understand why Matías was with him. He told her he was safe. "Don't hurt him," she pleaded. She could see a red mark on his cheek and she began to understand that he already had. "Just put the gun down."

He didn't listen.

"Why are you doing this?" she finally asked. It had been something she wanted to know. It was the million dollar question and he hesitated to answer. "Geb."

"Because you hurt me," he almost yelled. "I tried to apologize for everything I did. I was ready to change for you and you didn't even care." As he spoke, he waved the gun around, if he accidentally fired it the bullet would be unpredictable. "You were too busy spending time with Lucas."

"I'm sorry," she was sincere and tried to be as calming as she could. With each word, she spoke she tried to get closer to him.

"I was sorry for everything," he cried, "For knowing about Nina's killer, for letting Kayla try to kill your friends, for trying to ruin your reputation, and for intentionally ruining Matías' and Anthony's friendship...everything. But you just wouldn't listen."

"I should've," she comprehended. She hated him so much and she was wrong for disregarding his feelings. "But this won't change anything. None of it matters anymore. Just please put it down."

"Take another step and I'll shoot," he warned the gun on Matías' head. "I will shoot."

"Geb," he tried to speak but it was hard to when a gun was aimed at his temple. "Listen, man, you don't have to do this. Don't shoot - "

"Shut the fuck up," he yelled. "Shut the fuck up!"

"Calm down, please," Riley begged.

"Don't tell me to calm down! You never cared about me so don't start now - "

"You're gonna hurt someone - "

"I already have," he interrupted. His glaring eyes staring maliciously into hers. "I loved you! I knew you were mad at me but I didn't think you would ignore me like this. To completely forget about me. About what we had."

"I didn't, okay. I still remember. I remember everything, but this won't change anything. Geb, there are police outside, you can get yourself killed so please put the gun down."

He sighed frustrated because he knew about the police. He barely got the change to hide from a woman who was looking through the school as soon as the lockdown started. "You," he aimed the gun at a window. "Get the hell out."

When Riley turned to look at where he was pointing, she saw both Anthony and Lucas standing there. She sighed because they weren't supposed to be in there. Now there were more people in danger than before.

"Get in here," he yelled at them. They were left with no choice but to enter the same room she was in. "Lock the door."

Anthony wanted to hit him. To grab Matías and get out of there but that was too dangerous to even think about it. He listened to what he was told and made sure the door was locked.

"I should kill you," he shifted the gun towards Lucas, but Riley got in front of him. Lucas tried to move her, to protect her but Geb didn't allow it. "He didn't do anything. He never tried to hurt you."

"But he did," Geb returned his attention to Matías and Anthony grew tense. He could feel his own fists ball.

"Don't touch him," he warned. When he realized he had said something that Geb would surely act on, he sighed.

"Like this?" Geb asked before slapping Matías.

"Please - "

"Only because you said it," he stood back up and walked back towards Riley. "I was the one who gave you the polaroids," he admitted. "Did you know that?"

"That was you?" she asked. The polaroids played a big part in arresting Hyde and she couldn't believe she didn't question where they came from. "How? How did you get them?"

"My dad and Hyde are best friends. I would go to his house every day when I was younger. A week after Maya and Missy found Lauren's body, he confessed and told me he killed her. I ransacked his place and found the box. I didn't give them to you until I was sure he was messing with you guys. I tried to help you, I was there for you and I was going to tell you but you ignored me. "Why do you think he showed up at my place the day he escaped?" he began to approach her but Lucas stepped in.

"You really wanna get shot, don't you?" he exclaimed while shoving him.

"Just stop. No one needs to get hurt."

Geb looked at Riley, she was breathing hard because she was both nervous and scared. She wanted to be as far away from him as possible and he noticed. "I did something good, for you. Because when I saw the video and then Matías getting into that accident...I knew I had to do the right thing, but look at how that turned out."

"What video?" Riley asked. She didn't know if she should speak or not but Geb made it seem like he would be referencing the video a lot.

"You don't know?" he turned to Anthony, "They don't know? Neither of you told them?"

She turned her attention to Anthony who was beside her, hoping that he would explain it to her but he didn't, he just looked away.

"Remember a while back when Ruben stopped coming to school?" Geb asked and waited for Riley and Lucas to nod. "Anthony here is the one to blame. Do you want to know why?" There was a silence, "Because Anthony nearly beat him to death. Even when we told him to stop."

"Here I'll show you how it went," he started to walk towards Matías and Anthony yelled at him to stop. He knew what he was about to do and he wanted to stop it. When Geb noticed that he took a step towards him, he pulled the gun on him and that caused him to stay put.

"Don't hurt him. Please."

"You chose the wrong day to come back," he nearly spat into Matías' face. "For those of you who missed it, the video went something like this," Geb hit him in the face with the gun and then continued to punch him. Matías tried to shield his head and his stomach but Geb didn't let him. He kicked his stomach, his back, his chest, his face, he kicked everything in his body and the beating continued for more than it should have.

Anthony didn't know for how long he would have to wait. He was seconds away from getting angry but Riley stopped him. She placed her hand on his shoulder and shook her head no. He had to stay in his place. By this time Matías was barely conscious. He wasn't moving and his eyes were struggling to stay open. Geb's eyes turned to Anthony in order to see his reaction. He smiled when he saw that he was in tears, but his hands were balled as if he was ready to hit someone. "Seth and I always knew you had a temper. Can you control it when his life is hanging by a thread?"

"Why didn't you tell me about the polaroids?" Riley tried to advert the topic. He was focusing too much attention on Anthony and Matías and she couldn't see either of them get hurt.

"I tried, but you just wouldn't respond to my goddamn texts. This is your fault," he aimed the gun at her. "If you were to just talk to me maybe this wouldn't have happened."

He stepped closer to her and pressed the gun to her head, "You're a dead bitch now."

"Geb," Anthony spoke seeing that Matías was struggling to breathe. "Please just let me see him. I wanna check if he's okay. He will die if I don't - "

"Good. He can join Seth."

The silence in the room was scarier than the fear they felt. "What?" Riley asked.

"Did you kill him?" Lucas asked. The look on his face scared him. Now that the rest knew he was capable of actually killing someone, everything was a hundred times worse. "Did you kill him?"

Geb ignored his questions and turned to look at Riley, pressing the gun on her face. She grimaced because it was starting to hurt and that was when she heard it.

He had fired the gun but she didn't feel anything. She looked around her and saw that everyone was okay. Even though their faces were surprised, they were all okay.

Geb's gun had jammed.

As soon as they realized this, they all made a run for it. The first thing Lucas did was tackle him and try and wrestle the gun out of his hand. Anthony ran towards Matías and lifted him so that he could sit upright. This allowed Matías to throw up the blood that had gathered in his throat which prevented him from breathing.

Riley watched Lucas and Geb. She didn't know what to do or how she could help but as soon as the gun left Geb's hand, she picked it up and aimed it at him.

"Get up!" she yelled. "Get up now!"

He obeyed and raised his arms in defense, "Kill me and you'll never find Missy."

Her eyes widened. She thought she didn't hear right but she did. So had Lucas, "She's missing. She has been for the past two weeks."

"She's has. But I know where she's at. Only I do."

"Then tell me," she spoke, her voice was firm and the tears in her eyes were starting to dry. "Tell me or I'll shoot you."

"You won't - " He was cut off the second he felt the bullet pierce through his knee. "God. Fuck," he pressed his hand against the wound and cried, "Riley, stop - "

She shot his other knee, "Where the hell is she?"

"My pool house. In my cabin, up on the mountain," he confessed. "Please, stop. Don't shoot, don't shoot."

Riley set the gun down on the table beside her and sighed. She wished she could feel remorse for what she had done, but she didn't. Not one goddamn bit.

 **–**

 **2:15 pm**

Riley and Lucas were outside the school now. The SWAT team entered their room and immediately ran to Geb, the others were told to place their arms behind their head and were lead to a safe spot to hide in front of the school. It was protected by police cars and ambulances.

Anthony waited until the paramedics helped Matías. He was too weak to move, too weak to stand and seeing him like this hurt him bad. He couldn't help but think of his car crash. It made him feel like this was somewhat similar.

Matías was onto a gurney now, hooked up to a nasogastric tube and IV. They wouldn't let Anthony get into the ambulance with him because he wasn't related to him, so he had to wait outside. "I'll be at the hospital as soon as you get there. I promise."

The ambulance left and he joined Riley. They were all there. All his friends.

"They still haven't found Maya," she told them, a dried up trail of tears was clear on her cheek. "I hope she's alive. Please let her be alive."

"Will Matías be okay?" Melissa Parker spoke with Anthony the second she joined them. She was concerned for him because Matías' brother was her boyfriend.

"They're taking him to the hospital," he answered. "But he'll be okay. I think they said that his lung collapsed."

"You're an officer, right? Riley asked, staring at the taller brunette.

"Yes. I am," she answered.

"Missy Bradford, she's a student who goes to this school and she has been missing for the past two weeks. Geb Carter confessed to being her kidnapper. She's on Melcrove Mountain. There's a cabin in there that belonged to his father. She's in the pool house."

The sudden information caught of her off guard but she thanked her before running off.

As soon as Riley turned her attention to the school's front gate, she saw something she so desperately needed. It was Maya. Alive and well. "Where were you?" she asked her friend the second she joined them. "I texted and texted, I thought you were dead."

"I couldn't make it to a class so I hid in the bathroom. My phone fell in the toilet the second I got there," she hugged her friend and wiped her tears. "I heard, is it true? Is Seth really dead?"

Riley was about to answer her when she noticed that Josh joined them. He pulled Maya to the side so they could talk. She knew she would feel better if he told her.

"Here he comes," Lucas informed as he stared at Geb. He was in handcuffs and the SWAT team walked him off. Staring at him felt like staring at the devil himself. He was scary and evil just like him.

The police car drove away with him in it, leaving them behind with fear and pain to remember him bye.

Even though they were wrapped underneath all this chaos, they felt like they were stronger. Like they had survived something no teenager should ever have to go through. "I want you to know that wherever you go, whether it's back to Texas or across the world, my love for you will remain just as strong," Riley told Lucas. "I will always love you."

He wiped the tears on his eyes and kissed her like it was the last time. He was sure that after today, his aunt and uncle would want him to go back to Texas immediately and it hurt him. He didn't want to leave Riley. "When I come back I'm coming for you, okay. I will always love you too."

No matter what happened, Riley and Lucas would stay together. Despite it all, they were in love and that was forever.

* * *

 **9 Months Later**

 **November 22, 2018**

Seven teenagers have come a long way.

They've seen and been through it all. And they've changed.

Thanksgiving was the time of year when things all around us become different. The leaves change colors, the air gets colder, the days get darker, it all changes.

For Maya, this change was the best because this holiday was the first holiday Josh was able to come home for. Maya just couldn't believe that the day finally came. She would actually be able to touch him and feel him instead of staring at him through a computer screen. As she waited for him to arrive, she sat on a couch with Riley and Lucas by her side, she watched as the parents prepared the food and set the dinner table which was covered in food preparations and decor. She couldn't help but grow even more anxious.

"Maya, are you okay?" Riley asked the blonde whose palms were so red she could physically see the sweat coming from them. "You don't look good."

"I'm fine - I'm like so good," she lied. "We talk almost every day so I feel normal. It's not like nothing has really changed between us. Other than the fact that we are now a 'thing' but we don't call each other a 'thing' but we know we're a 'thing,' does that make sense? I feel like it does but I also feel like it doesn't." Lucas and Riley stared at each other before they started to smile.

"She's really nervous," Lucas concluded.

"Am I really that obvious?" They both nodded. "He's been away for a while. I'm sure you'd be nervous too had you actually left New York."

A few months back, when things were still crazy, Lucas' aunt was convinced that this town was a horrible place. She was so scared that she wanted Lucas to move back to Texas so that he could be safe, but in the end, Lucas was able to reason with them and he got the chance to stay. Maya wished she was that lucky. But the luck Riley and Lucas had was some kind of magic when it came to relationships.

"I'm sure he's nervous too."

She shrugged, "I wouldn't know. I've never seen him get nervous. He's always been the one to keep me calm."

There was a knock on the door.

Maya stood on her feet in a blink of an eye and ran to the window to see whom it was that knocked. "It can't be him. It's too early. He wouldn't knock either because he's with Shawn - it's Missy. Thank God it's Missy."

When she opened the door she gave her a huge hug and then welcomed her in.

Missy was found that same day Geb was arrested. She had gone at least three days without sleep and food, she was in such a bad shape that she had to be carried out by the police because she couldn't walk.

"How's your baby girl?" Riley asked. Missy was pregnant around the same time she went missing. "She's really quiet for a newborn which is - not going to lie - the best thing has happened to me this month."

"...besides your daughter being born," Maya added and then shared a laugh with her.

A wave of silence fell on them. Geb was the father of Missy's baby.

"Has...he tried to contact you," Riley asked. She didn't know whether or not she should say his name so she figured it would be best if she didn't.

Missy ran a hand through her hair and tucked it behind her ear, "He has. But, it won't be any time soon before he gets a chance to see her. I don't think I want him to."

No one disagreed with her. Geb was a bad guy and that was the last thing Missy needed for her daughter. "Where are Anthony and Matías? Haven't spoken to them in the longest time. I hear they're dating now."

"Yeah," they all confirmed. They were shocked by the news too but happy at the same time. Nothing goes better than the two together.

"How did you guys find out?"

"Instagram," Lucas answered.

"Instagram," Maya followed.

"Anthony," Riley spoke. They all turned to her and raised a brow.

It was true. She knew before everybody else did and she didn't say anything because it wasn't her place to do so. It was such a cute moment because Anthony expressed how much he loved him and that he would give him the world. Her heart filled with warmth hearing him talk about Matías like that.

"Did he really?"

"Yeah," she confirmed. "The day before they posted about it, he came to me and told me. I helped revive their friendship and he wanted to thank me for that."

As if on cue, they walked inside the house and they immediately dropped the topic. "Told you they were talking about us," Anthony smiled and set the pie he had in his hands on the table.

"Sorry, we didn't mean - "

"We're not mad. It's just funny that's all."

"Hey, kids," Riley's mom called out. "Dinner will be ready soon."

The door opened and once again, Maya was the first to turn in the direction of it. When she saw that Shawn walked in and stood by the door, she furrowed her brows. "Where's - ?"

"Josh said he wants to talk to you before he comes in."

"He's here?"

Shawn nodded. "Yes. And he wants to speak with you."

She looked at her friends before she took a deep breath, stood up, and patted her dress so that it was clean and wrinkle-free. When she walked out the door, she saw him standing on the porch. He looked the same yet so different.

"Josh," she heard herself say. He turned around so that he could get a look at her. The smile he gave her made her feel powerful.

"Maya...you look, amazing."

She walked closer to him. "You do too."

For a moment there was a silence between them. Maya could see his hands from the corner of her eyes and she didn't know if he would grab her hand or not. "How's California?"

"It's very beautiful, very hot," he explained. He was beginning to catch her scent and that was when their eyes met.

"I see," she responded and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

There was another long-lasting silence and it wasn't until Josh spoke where things really began to change. "I just need a few more years, Maya. And then I'm coming back...to you."

She turned to look at him, "Josh I know. You don't need to feel like you owe me anything, I know you're coming back. That's why I am happy to see you. Because I know you'll keep your word."

He stepped closer to her, "I missed you, a lot."

Their eyes were locked on each other and she gulped, "You make me happy, I hope you know that."

He smiled and pressed his forehead against hers, "You've made me the happiest I've ever been." When their eyes locked again, Josh knew he had to take the perfect moment and kiss her.

And he did.

"I love you, Maya." He confessed to her. She stared at him for a few seconds longer, this time she studied not only the way he looked, but their future together. They had kept a promise for a few months now, that they are each others. And the more Maya realized, the more she fell in love with him.

"I love you too, Josh."

 **–**

"Why are you in this room?" Anthony asked when he found Matías. He had left the living room and walked into a private room without letting anyone know. "Everyone's out there." Staring at him now made him feel so much better because a few months ago he was all bruised up. He had to stay in the hospital and it broke Anthony's heart to see him like that again. He had grown protective of him ever since.

"I needed time," he informed before he closed a photo album and set it on the table in front of him. "Come, sit with me."

Anthony was still standing by the door when he said this. He furrowed his brows and watched him before finally joining him. "What's up?"

"I have to ask you something," he said and then stopped to look at his reaction. "It's nothing serious so don't freak out."

"What is it?"

"When did you fall in love with me..." Matías asked.

"Hmm," Anthony said and then began to think. When he remembered, his face dropped but he continued to speak. "You were in a hospital bed."

Matías heart grew heavy. He could only imagine the fear Anthony felt and he knew that it couldn't compare to the fear they've felt. "I realized I was in love with you when we kissed for the first time. I couldn't understand why I cared about you so much, and then out of the nowhere, I realized it. I couldn't stop smiling."

"It's funny, you know," he took a deep breath and turned to him, "It took a life-threatening car accident to make me realize it."

He leaned his head against his and closed his eyes, "Car accident or not, you loved me. It doesn't need to be said on some huge romantic date."

They took advantage of this little moment. It had been a while since they've really talked like this because they've been so centered on the idea of having fun. When you're so close to death for the billionth time it holds you back when you're away from it - you feel free. "Why did you ask?" Anthony questioned. He thought it was weird for him to just bring up this conversation especially on this day.

"I don't know, it's just...still weird to me, you know. And weird isn't the word but I just can't believe that you're in my life. You've made it so much better."

He took his hand and kissed the front of it. "You make my life better too."

The both of them stayed like this for a few moments. It always felt great to be able to hold him and smell him like always, he radiated this warmth and confidence that Matías couldn't live without. "I remember the first day we spoke to each other."

"Yeah. So do I. I was into some trouble back then, but you helped me out of it."

"That's behind us now."

They looked into each other's eyes and shared a kiss. "I'm most grateful for you. I hope you know that."

"I always will."

 **–**

"I'm really glad Missy is okay," Riley said as she turned to Lucas. Missy had gone to help Topanga set the table and judging from the laughter, she was getting along with them well. "She could've been dead."

"You could've too," Lucas told her. He reminded her constantly of the fear she caused him the day she decided to meet Geb when he was armed. It still scared him when he thought about it.

Riley shifted herself so that she could see him better, "Had I not done that someone could've died."

Lucas never knew what to say when Riley responded with this. He knew he didn't like her decision but he accepted the fact that she was just trying to do something right, and she saved so many lives because of it. "You're okay, that's all that matters."

Riley went to grab his hand, "I love that you are so protective of me."

He gave her a faint smile before talking again, "Do you want to come to Texas with me for New Years," he asked and watched as she lit up. "I'm only going for five days and then I'm coming back. It would mean a lot to me if you could come."

"You know I do," she kissed him. "I've never been. And then I can meet your friends from there, meet the rest of your family. I would love that so much."

Lucas loved that she was so happy to want to go with him.

"But, Christmas with my family this time."

"I agree," he smiled.

The topic changed after this. They began to talk about their life now and how news outlets finally stopped calling them and stopped with the interviews and it finally allowed them to breathe for a while. Riley always wanted to live a normal life where she had to worry about passing an exam over her friends dying. When a silence grew between her and Lucas, she looked out the window and thought.

"What do you think Josh and Maya are talking about?" she asked. "They haven't stepped in."

"Let's take a look," Lucas suggested and they both got off the couch. When they approached the window, they moved the curtain just a slight bit so that they couldn't be seen. But that wouldn't matter because as soon as they were able to realize what was going on, they saw that Maya and Josh were kissing.

"They're so cute," Riley chimed. She closed the curtain and they turned to each other.

"That was us when we first started kissing," Lucas said. When they first became boyfriend and girlfriend, kissing was all they could do.

"What do you mean? We're still like that."

"Till we're gray and old."

The door beside them opened and Maya and Josh walked in. As if on cue, Topanga walked into the living room and told them that the dinner was ready.

They all gathered around the table which was in a different room, a much bigger and better room. There was a wave of joy that washed over Riley because it seemed like for once all of her friends were safe and okay.

"Who wants to do the honors - ?"

"I do," Riley interrupted. Once she realized she was being too loud, she took a deep breath and spoke again. "I would like to."

"Okay," Shawn laughed. "Go ahead."

"For starters, I am grateful for being a survivor, I think that all of my friends can relate to that. We've been through so much yet we're here, and we've broke passed the tears and pain and even though we were broken, we've fixed ourselves. Alone." As she spoke, she looked around the room and stopped when her eyes landed on Maya. Maya used to be scared for her life because she knew someone was using her for their personal advantage. Her eyes moved to Missy, who had been kidnapped by her baby's father and starved for a few days. "We've been hunted and discarded like we were nothing for problems that others couldn't seem to fix," she said this because of Anthony and Matías. They were caught in a mistake over an innocent problem and because of it, Kayla tried to kill them. "We've tried to protect each other and even though we couldn't, we didn't stop," Lucas and Josh were perfect examples of that. They always felt like they needed to be this type of friend because safety was a big concern for them. They never wanted their friends to get hurt. "And lastly, we were just kids. But," she wiped the tears off her cheeks. "Like I said we are survivors and that's why we've become better people. In the end, good always wins."

She looked at her friends and smiled because she never really expressed to them how much she loved them. She was glad that they knew that now and that their friendship could go on for many more years. And that her relationship with Lucas could live just as long.

 **The End**

* * *

 **Writers Note: So that wraps A Bullet in Time. The day I write this it is June 15, 2018 but you guys should be reading this sometime in October. I have to admit, I feel free. This story was tough to get through but it is one of my best works. Like I have never put so much thought into a story until this project came along. I am so proud of its outcome and I hope that you love it and that you learn that things happen in schools such as shootings which must be prevented. I don't just want you to love this story for the relationships but for the message.**

 **So thank you so much for this opportunity. For the readers and the reviewers, I definitely wouldn't do it without you and I truly mean that. You are my source of inspiration which is why I do what I do.**

 **For the last time on this journey,**

 **Follow, Favorite, and Review**

 **Goodbye...**


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